Octosyllables

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A category of poetic lines containing eight syllables each, often used in various forms of verse
2. A structure in poetry characterized by lines consisting of eight metrical syllables, frequently employed in different rhyming schemes
3. Referring to lines in a poem that are constructed with eight syllables, common in several poetic traditions and styles

Etymology: "Octosyllables" is the plural of "octosyllable," a line of verse containing eight syllables. Its parts are plain: "octo-" comes from Greek "oktō," meaning eight, which passed into Latin as "octō," and "syllable" supplies the unit being counted. The compound is a transparent English formation, built directly from these two elements rather than inherited as a single ready-made word. Because the prefix and the counted unit are both so ordinary, the word tells you exactly what it measures. Poets have long used lines of this length, often in rhyming couplets or in stanzas with varied rhyme patterns, and the term simply names the count.