1. a line of verse consisting of eleven syllables
Usage: technical term in prosody and poetry; common in Italian and Spanish verse

1. consisting of or written in lines of eleven syllables
Usage: technical term in prosody

Examples

• The poet chose the hendecasyllable as the primary meter for her collection.
• Italian sonnets often employ the hendecasyllable in their quatrains and tercets.
• A hendecasyllable line has a distinctive rhythm that differs from the more common iambic pentameter.
• The translator preserved the hendecasyllable structure of the original Spanish verse.
• Students of classical poetry must learn to recognize and scan the hendecasyllable.