Alexandrine

¹

or al·ex·an·drine

[ al-ig-zan-drin, -dreen, -zahn- ]

noun

1. a verse or line of poetry of twelve syllables.

adjective

1. of or relating to such a verse or line.

Alexandrine

²

[ al-ig-zan-drin, -dreen, -zahn- ]

adjective

1. of or relating to Alexandria, Egypt.

Alexandrine

/ -ˈzɑːn-; ˌælɪɡˈzændraɪn; -drɪn /

noun

1. a line of verse having six iambic feet, usually with a caesura after the third foot

adjective

1. of, characterized by, or written in Alexandrines

Word History and Origins

Origin of Alexandrine¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Middle French alexandrin, after Alexandre, from the use of this meter in an Old French poem on Alexander the Great ( def ); -ine ¹

Origin of Alexandrine²

First recorded in 1490–1500; Alexandr(ia) + -ine ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of Alexandrine¹

C16: from French alexandrin, from Alexandre, title of 15th-century poem written in this metre

Example Sentences

Alexandrine Olga Ravaosolo and her two sisters — all diminutive women in their sixties — stacked sandbags against the walls of the two-story home built by their father, a carpenter in the queen’s court.

From New York Times

The original Cyrano, first performed in 1897, was an artful throwback to the poetic dramas of the 17th century, written in Alexandrine couplets and infused with lofty, archaic notions of love and honor.

From New York Times

The pastoral piece was then purchased from the dealer in Paris by Alexandrine de Rothschild, part of a Jewish family of bankers.

From New York Times

This idea of bias is born out by Alexandrine Royer, from the Montreal AI Ethics Institute, who wrote about what she described as the urgent need for more regulation for these workers.

From BBC

Christian asks and his question gets to the paradoxical heart of this play: the language of romance, whether in Alexandrine verse or rap couplets, is entrancing but not wholly trustworthy.

From The Guardian