Meanings
nounpentameter (countable and uncountable, plural pentameters)
plural pentameters · alternative pentametre
- countablecommunicationsA line in a poem having five metrical feet.
The best verses, more especially pentameters, are written on the principle of attracting and fixing the attention to their close.
1822, Robert Bland, Elements of Latin Hexameters and Pentameters, third edition, London: John Robinson, page vi
Origin
- Middle Frenchpentamètre
- Englishpentameter
PIE word *pénkʷe From Middle French pentamètre, by surface analysis, penta- + meter.
More words from Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch pentameter
- pentameterline in a poem
Finnish pentametri, pentametri
- pentametriline in a poem
- pentametripoetic metre
French pentasyllabe, pentamètre
- pentasyllabeline in a poem
- pentamètrepoetic metre
German Fünfheber, Fünfheber
- Fünfheberline in a poem
- Fünfheberpoetic metre
Hungarian pentameter, pentameter
- pentameterline in a poem
- pentameterpoetic metre
Polish pięciostopowiec, pentametr
- pięciostopowiecpoetic metre
- pentametrpoetic metre
Romanian pentametru, pentametru
- pentametruline in a poem
- pentametrupoetic metre
Cite this entry
APA
pentameter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pentameter
MLA
“pentameter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pentameter. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pentameter,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pentameter.
Source: pentameter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.