Standard Lemma guide

hypercatalexis

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The addition of one or two syllables to the last foot of a verse

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: communications, journalism, literature, media, poetry, publishing, writing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Coined in the late 1880s as a back-formation from hypercatalectic, from Latin hypercatalēcticus, from Ancient Greek ὑπερκαταληκτικός (huperkatalēktikós), from ὑπερ- (huper-, “over”) + καταληκτικός (katalēktikós, “incomplete”)