alexandrine

views updated May 17 2018

al·ex·an·drine / ˌaligˈzandrin; -ˌdrēn/ Prosody • adj. (of a line of verse) having six iambic feet.• n. (usu. alexandrines) an alexandrine line.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

alexandrine

views updated May 21 2018

alexandrine pert. to verse of twelve syllables. XVI. — F. alexandrin, f. Alexandre, title of a famous OF. romance (XII–XIII), concerning Alexander the Great, in which the metre is used; see -INE1.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

alexandrine

views updated May 21 2018

alexandrine an iambic line of twelve syllables or six feet. The term comes (in the late 16th century) from French, from Alexandre (see Alexander1), the subject of an Old French poem in this metre.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

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