stanza

[ stan-zuh ]
/ ˈstæn zə /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR stanza ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Prosody.

an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem.

Origin of stanza

1580–90; < Italian: room, station, stopping-place (plural stanze) < Vulgar Latin *stantia, equivalent to Latin stant- (stem of stāns), present participle of stāre to stand + -ia -y3

OTHER WORDS FROM stanza

Words nearby stanza

stanovoi, stanovoi range, stans, stanton, stanton, elizabeth cady, stanza, stapedectomy, stapedial, stapediotenotomy, stapelia, stapes

Words related to stanza

verse, refrain, strophe, division, stave

Example sentences from the Web for stanza

British Dictionary definitions for stanza

stanza
/ (ˈstænzə) /

noun

prosody a fixed number of verse lines arranged in a definite metrical pattern, forming a unit of a poem
US and Australian a half or a quarter in a football match

Derived forms of stanza

stanzaed, adjective stanzaic (stænˈzeɪɪk), adjective

Word Origin for stanza

C16: from Italian: halting place, from Vulgar Latin stantia (unattested) station, from Latin stāre to stand

Cultural definitions for stanza

stanza

A group of lines of verse, usually set off from other groups by a space. The stanzas of a poem often have the same internal pattern of rhymes.