distich
Americannoun
-
a unit of two lines of verse, usually a self-contained statement; couplet.
-
a rhyming couplet.
noun
Other Word Forms
- distichal adjective
- subdistich noun
Etymology
Origin of distich
1545–55; < Latin distichon, noun use of neuter of Greek dístichos having two lines, equivalent to di- di- 1 + stíchos row
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The following distich," he added, "should now become your motto: "Inveni portum.
From The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, Vol. III (of VI), "The Eternal Quest" The First Complete and Unabridged English Translation, Illustrated with Old Engravings by Seingalt, Jacques Casanova de
Furnished with the English letters corresponding to these symbols, one may, if sufficiently curious, translate each distich as one finds it.
From A West Country Pilgrimage by Phillpots, Eden
Percy discovered in the old metrical romance of “Sir Bevis of Southampton,” the very distich which Edgar had parodied.—Warton, iii.
From Amenities of Literature Consisting of Sketches and Characters of English Literature by Disraeli, Isaac
The well-known distich on Shakspeare is rather good—it utters with a vigorous turn the general sentiment, the nation's wonder of its own idol.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, No. 359, September 1845 by Various
Somnus ut sit levis, sit tibi cœna brevis, is the ancient axiom of our distich, That your sleep may be light, Let your supper be slight.
From Curiosities of Medical Experience by Millingen, J. G. (John Gideon)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
