feminine rhyme

noun

, Prosody.

1. a rhyme either of two syllables of which the second is unstressed double rhyme, as in motion, notion, or of three syllables of which the second and third are unstressed triple rhyme, as in fortunate, importunate.

feminine rhyme

noun

1. prosody a rhyme between words in which one, two, or more unstressed syllables follow a stressed one, as in elation, nation or merrily, verily Compare masculine rhyme

Word History and Origins

Origin of feminine rhyme¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Fem′inineness; Feminin′ity, the nature of the female sex.—Female screw, a screw cut upon the inward surface of a cylindrical hole in wood or metal; Feminine rhyme, a rhyme between words that terminate each in an unaccented syllable.

From Project Gutenberg

To Thibaud is said to be due the introduction of the feminine rhyme into French poetry—a metrical variation of capital importance.

From Project Gutenberg

Last week, however, he poised himself for another burst, published his Coronation Sonnet which, despite a feminine rhyme in the last line, is as good an official poem as Britons expect: You stand upon the highway of the sea, Wherein the ships, your children, come and go In splendor at the full of every flow, Bound to and from whatever ports may be.

From Time Magazine Archive

To Thibaud is said to be due the introduction of the feminine rhyme into French poetry,—a metrical variation of capital importance.

From Project Gutenberg

The stanza employed in La Cadéno de Moustié is remarkable in having only one masculine and one feminine rhyme in its seven lines:— "Presounié di Sarrasin, Engimbra coume un caraco, Em' un calot cremesin Que lou blanc soulèu eidraco, En virant la pouso-raco,Pg 84 Rico-raco, Blacasset pregavo ansin."

From Project Gutenberg