redondilla

[ Spanish re-dawn-dee-lyah ]

noun

, Prosody.

1. a Spanish verse form in which each stanza consists of four lines, each with eight syllables, and a rhyme scheme abba.

Word History and Origins

Origin of redondilla¹

1830–40; < Spanish, equivalent to redond ( o ) round (< Latin rotundus ) + -illa diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Conde has given a translation of certain Spanish-Arabian poems, in the measure of the original, from which it is evident, that the hemistich of an Arabian verse corresponds perfectly with the redondilla.

From Project Gutenberg

The redondilla admits of great variety; but in the romances it is most frequently found to consist of eight syllables, the last foot, and some or all of the preceding, as the case may be, being trochees.

From Project Gutenberg