villanelle
[ vil-uh-nel ]
/ ˌvɪl əˈnɛl /
noun Prosody.
a short poem of fixed form, written in tercets, usually five in number, followed by a final quatrain, all being based on two rhymes.
Origin of villanelle
1580–90; < French < Italian; see
villanella,
-elle
Words nearby villanelle
villainess,
villainize,
villainous,
villainy,
villanella,
villanelle,
villanovan,
villard,
villari effect,
villarrica,
villars
Definition for villanelle (2 of 2)
villanella
[ vil-uh-nel-uh; Italian veel-lah-nel-lah ]
/ ˌvɪl əˈnɛl ə; Italian ˌvil lɑˈnɛl lɑ /
noun, plural vil·la·nel·le [vil-uh-nel-ee; Italian veel-lah-nel-le] /ˌvɪl əˈnɛl i; Italian ˌvil lɑˈnɛl lɛ/.
a rustic Italian part song without accompaniment.
Origin of villanella
1590–1600; < Italian, feminine of
villanello rural, rustic, equivalent to
villan(o) peasant, boor (see
villain) +
-ello -ish
Example sentences from the Web for villanelle
British Dictionary definitions for villanelle (1 of 2)
villanelle
/ (ˌvɪləˈnɛl) /
noun
a verse form of French origin consisting of 19 lines arranged in five tercets and a quatrain. The first and third lines of the first tercet recur alternately at the end of each subsequent tercet and both together at the end of the quatrain
Word Origin for villanelle
C16: from French, from Italian
villanella
British Dictionary definitions for villanelle (2 of 2)
villanella
/ (ˌvɪləˈnɛlə) /
noun plural -las
a type of part song originating in Naples during the 16th century
Word Origin for villanella
C16: from Italian, from
villano rustic, from Late Latin
vīllānus; see
villain