quatrain

[ kwo-treyn ]

noun

1. a stanza or poem of four lines, usually with alternate rhymes.

quatrain

/ ˈkwɒtreɪn /

noun

1. a stanza or poem of four lines, esp one having alternate rhymes

Word History and Origins

Origin of quatrain¹

1575–85; < French, equivalent to quatre four (< Latin quattuor ) + -ain < Latin -ānus -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of quatrain¹

C16: from French, from quatre four, from Latin quattuor

Example Sentences

“Write a five-character quatrain about The New York Times.”

From New York Times

The five-character quatrain, which rose to prominence during the Tang dynasty, has four lines consisting of five characters each.

From New York Times

One visitor from the United States, Rupert Flowers, told the state-run Anadolu Agency that he traveled to Konya, inspired by Rumi’s best-known and welcoming quatrain:

From Seattle Times

On “Throw It Away,” she distills the relationship’s collapse into an incredible little quatrain: “We reached a ceiling/I had a feeling/From the beginning/Must be the ending.”

From New York Times

In “America,” he added, “I had this wonderful quatrain that went: ‘I like to be in America/OK by me in America/Everything free in America/For a small fee in America.’

From New York Times

Related Words

• ballad
• composition
• epic
• lyric
• poetry
• rhyme
• sonnet
• verse
• writing