senarius

[ suh-nair-ee-uhs ]

noun

, plural se·nar·i·i [s, uh, -, nair, -ee-ahy, -, nair, -ee-ee].

1. Classical Prosody. a Latin verse of six feet, especially an iambic trimeter.

Word History and Origins

Origin of senarius¹

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin sēnārius, equivalent to sēn(ī) “six each” (distributive numeral of sex “six”) + -ārius adjective suffix; -ary ( def )

Example Sentences

He was considered the inventor of parody and of a peculiar metre, the scazon or choliambus, which substitutes a spondee for the final iambus of an iambic senarius, and is an appropriate form for the burlesque character of his poems.

From Project Gutenberg

That we do not know the inventors of the great single poetic vehicles, the hexameter, the iambic Senarius, the English heroic, the French Alexandrine, is one thing.

From Project Gutenberg

As soon as the suspense is over, it drops to the iambic senarius.

From Project Gutenberg

If we should arrange the commoner Latin verses in a sequence according to the emotional effects which they produce, at the bottom of the series would stand the iambic senarius.

From Project Gutenberg

Consequently the common medium for conversation or for the narrative in a composition like comedy made up entirely of verse is the senarius.

From Project Gutenberg