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hypercatalectic

[ hahy-per-kat-l-ek-tik ]

adjective

, Prosody.
  1. (of a line of verse) containing an additional syllable after the last dipody or foot. Compare acatalectic ( def 2 ), catalectic.


hypercatalectic

/ ˌhaɪpəˌkætəˈlɛktɪk /

adjective

  1. prosody (of a line of verse) having extra syllables after the last foot
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of hypercatalectic1

1695–1705; < Late Latin hypercatalēcticus, equivalent to Greek hyperkatálēkt ( os ) + Latin -icus -ic; hyper-, catalectic
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Example Sentences

French Alexandrines are arranged in couplets, alternately acatalectic with masculine rhymes, and hypercatalectic with feminine rhymes.

The normal line of which these quatrains are composed is a thirteen-syllabled one divided by a central pause, so that the first half is an iambic dimeter catalectic, and the second an iambic dimeter hypercatalectic.

The rhythm of the lines is marked, the effect upon the ear being quite like that of English iambic pentameters hypercatalectic.

Knowing this, we can detect the hypercatalectic and catalectic lines.

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hypercapniahypercatalexis