CATALEXIS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does catalexis mean? 

• CATALEXIS (noun)
  The noun CATALEXIS has 1 sense:

1. the absence of a syllable in the last foot of a line or verse

  Familiarity information: CATALEXIS used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CATALEXIS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The absence of a syllable in the last foot of a line or verse

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("catalexis" is a kind of...):

beat; cadence; measure; meter; metre ((prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse)

Derivation:

catalectic ((prosody) a line of verse that lacks a syllable in the last metrical foot)

catalectic ((verse) metrically incomplete; especially lacking one or more syllables in the final metrical foot)