verse (vɜːs
)
Definitions
noun
- (not in technical usage) a stanza or other short subdivision of a poem
- poetry as distinct from prose
- a series of metrical feet forming a rhythmic unit of one line
- ((as modifier) ⇒
verse line
- a specified type of metre or metrical structure ⇒
iambic verse
- one of the series of short subsections into which most of the writings in the Bible are divided
- a metrical composition; poem
verb
- a rare word for versify
Word Origin
Old English vers, from Latin versus a furrow, literally: a turning (of the plough), from vertere to turnUsage examples
I'll give you chapter and verse if you like, but there's a simpler test.
, The Only Game (1991)We in the West may yet rediscover the wisdom of the fields, with the help of a verse or two.
New Scientist (1998)A career criminal spared from jail because of his "talent" for poetry has written a verse praising the judges involved.
Edmonton Sun (2003)Eliot encouraged Ridler to write poetry and, in 1941, published her second collection of verse.
Glasgow Herald (2001)The most striking indication of devotional literature is the surviving body of popular religious verse in Irish.
, THE FOUR NATIONS: A History of the United Kingdom (2002)