Definition of Stanza

1. Noun. A fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem.

Group relationships: Poem, Verse Form
Specialized synonyms: Couplet, Octave, Sestet, Envoi, Envoy, Quatrain, Spenserian Stanza, Strophe, Antistrophe, Rhyme Royal, Ottava Rima
Generic synonyms: Text, Textual Matter
Terms within: Line

Definition of Stanza

1. n. A number of lines or verses forming a division of a song or poem, and agreeing in meter, rhyme, number of lines, etc., with other divisions; a part of a poem, ordinarily containing every variation of measure in that poem; a combination or arrangement of lines usually recurring; whether like or unlike, in measure.

Definition of Stanza

1. Noun. A unit of a poem, written or printed as a paragraph; equivalent to a verse. ¹

2. Noun. (architecture) An apartment or division in a building. ¹

3. Noun. (computing) A structural element in XML ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Stanza

1. a division of a poem [n -S] : STANZAED, STANZAIC [adj]

Medical Definition of Stanza

1. Origin: It. Stanza a room, habitation, a stanza, i. E, a stop, fr. L. Stans, p.pr. Of stare to stand. See Stand, and cf. Estancia, Stance, Stanchion. 1. A number of lines or verses forming a division of a song or poem, and agreeing in meter, rhyme, number of lines, etc, with other divisions; a part of a poem, ordinarily containing every variation of measure in that poem; a combination or arrangement of lines usually recurring; whether like or unlike, in measure. "Horace confines himself strictly to one sort of verse, or stanza, in every ode." (Dryden) 2. An apartment or division in a building; a room or chamber. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Stanza

stannums
stannyl
stannylated
stannylene
stannylenes
stannylidene
stannylidenes
stannylium
stannyne
stanol
stanolone
stanols
stanozolol
stanyel
stanyels
stanza (current term)
stanzaed
stanzaic
stanzalike
stanzas
stanze
stanzes
stanzo
stanzoes
stanzos
stap
stap my vitals
stape
stapedectomies
stapedectomy

Literary usage of Stanza

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the by Charles George Herbermann (1913)
"This is especially notable in the sixth stanza, where the first peculiar change ... The same thing is not true, however, of the corresponding stanza of the ..."

2. A Handbook of Poetics for Students of English Verse by Francis Barton Gummere (1898)
"I. THE stanza, OR STROPHE. This is a subject which presents few difficulties ; for the construction of a stanza appeals to the eye, and cannot be mistaken. ..."

3. The History of the Popes, from the Close of the Middle Ages: Drawn from the by Ludwig Pastor, Ralph Francis Kerr, Frederick Ignatius Antrobus (1908)
"A merely superficial inspection of the frescoes in the third stanza shows ... The idea of the fresco decoration in the third stanza is closely connected ..."

4. Notes and Queries by Martim de Albuquerque (1901)
"Book I. canto viii. stanza xvii. Here the Polonian, he comes hurtling in Under ... Book II. canto viii. stanza xvi. And who are these covered in tomb-black ..."

5. Familiar Quotations: A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced by John Bartlett (1906)
"stanza 12. There are some feelings time cannot benumb, Nor torture shake. ... stanza 24. Parting day Dies like the dolphin, whom each pang imbues With a new ..."

6. Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges: Founded on by Joseph Henry Allen, James Bradstreet Greenough (1916)
"The Elegiac stanza consists of two verses, — a Hexameter followed by a Pentameter.1 ... The following verses will illustrate the forms of the Elegiac stanza ..."

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