poulter's measure — noun Etymology: obsolete poulter poulterer, from Middle English pulter; from the former practice of occasionally giving one or two extra when counting eggs by dozens Date: 1576 a meter in which lines of 12 and 14 syllables alternate … New Collegiate Dictionary
poulter's measure — noun A metre with alternate lines of 12 and 14 syllables, because it was said that poulters gave 12 eggs for the first dozen and 14 if you bought a second dozen … Wiktionary
poulter's measure — ˈpōltə(r)z noun Etymology: so called from the former practice of occasionally giving one or two extra when counting eggs by dozens : a meter in which lines of 12 and 14 syllables alternate * * * /pohl teuhrz/, Pros. a metrical pattern using… … Useful english dictionary
poulter'smeasure — poul·ter s measure (pōlʹtərz) n. A metrical pattern employing couplets in which the first line is in iambic hexameter and the second is in iambic heptameter. [From obsolete poulter, a poultry dealer (from the practice of giving a few extra eggs … Universalium
Fourteener (poetry) — A Fourteener, in poetry, is a line consisting of 14 syllables, usually having 7 iambic feet, often used in 16th century English verse. Sometimes it also used to mean a poem of 14 lines, frequently a sonnet.The seventh song of Philip Sidney s… … Wikipedia
Baker's dozen — A baker s dozen, also known as a long dozen and a long measure , is 13, one more than a proper dozen. The expression found its genesis in 13th century England, when an Assize of Bread and Ale was introduced. Then, it was commonly called the long… … Wikipedia
poultry — mid 14c., from O.Fr. pouletrie domestic fowl (late 13c.), from poulet young fowl (see PULLET (Cf. pullet)). Poulterer (1630s) is a redundancy, but has largely ousted original poulter (c.1400), from O.Fr. pouletier poulterer, with agent suffix er … Etymology dictionary
Dozen — Doz redirects here. For the Afro Asiatic language, see DOZ. Dozens redirects here. For other uses, see Dozens (disambiguation). Group of twelve redirects here. For other uses, see Group of Twelve (disambiguation). A dozen (common abbreviated doz… … Wikipedia
short metre — ▪ prosody also called short measure , abbreviation S.M. a quatrain of which the first, second, and fourth lines are in iambic trimeter and the third is in iambic tetrameter (tetrameter). Short metre may also refer to a poulter s measure… … Universalium
short meter — noun 1. also short measure : a quatrain of which the first, second, and fourth lines are in iambic trimeter and the third in iambic tetrameter : a poulter s measure written as a quatrain abbr. S.M. 2. a. : quick work … Useful english dictionary
