STANZA Definition & Meaning

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stanza

[stan-zuh]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Prosody.

an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem.

stanza

/ ˈstænzə, stænˈzeɪɪk /

noun

prosody a fixed number of verse lines arranged in a definite metrical pattern, forming a unit of a poem
a half or a quarter in a football match

stanza

A group of lines of verse, usually set off from other groups by a space. The stanzas of a poem often have the same internal pattern of rhymes.

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

stanzaed adjective
stanzaic adjective
stanzaical adjective
stanzaically adverb
nonstanzaic adjective
unstanzaic adjective
ˈ��ٲ��Գ�� adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of stanza¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Italian: literally, “room, station, stopping-place” (plural stanze ), from unattested Vulgar Latin stantia, equivalent to Latin stant- (stem of ��Բ� ), present participle of �� “to stand” + -ia abstract noun suffix; stand, -y ³

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of stanza¹

C16: from Italian: halting place, from Vulgar Latin stantia (unattested) station, from Latin �� to stand

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Synonym Study

See verse.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Blunt as his Charles is, he proves to be the most guarded of the trio; there are unsung stanzas of sadness in his eyes.

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“The word stops, the heart dies / The wind counts the lost goodbyes,” goes one characteristically haunting stanza.

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They spoke on a recent day in their Berlin studio as they giggled and tripped over their own stanzas — which exploit a feature of German grammar that crams nouns together into strings of syllables.

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He reads from a stack of loose papers, his hands moving in time with the stanzas he spits like rap bars.

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“Obviously, the second half, definitely missed more shots,” said Wells, whose team made 2 of 11 from deep in the second stanza.

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Related 51�Թ�s

verse��

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady stapedectomy

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