sonnet

S1O1N1N1E1T1
/ˈsɒnɪt/obsolete/ˈsʌnɪt/

noun

A fixed verse form of Italian origin consisting of fourteen lines that are typically five-foot iambics and rhyme according to one of a few prescribed schemes.

OriginMiddle French sonnet ← Italian sonetto ← Old Occitan sonet →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

nounsonnet (plural sonnets)

plural sonnets

  1. A fixed verse form of Italian origin consisting of fourteen lines that are typically five-foot iambics and rhyme according to one of a few prescribed schemes.
verbsonnet (third-person singular simple present sonnets, present participle sonneting or sonnetting, simple past and past participle sonneted or sonnetted)

present singular third person sonnets · participle present sonneting · participle present sonnetting · participle past sonneted · past sonneted · participle past sonnetted · past sonnetted

  1. intransitiveTo compose sonnets.

    strains that come almost to sonneting

    1649, J[ohn] Milton, ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […], →OCLC
  2. transitiveTo celebrate in sonnets; to write a sonnet about.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
quatorzain

Origin

  1. Latinsonus“sound”
  2. Old Occitansonet“a song”
  3. Italiansonetto
  4. Middle Frenchsonnet
  5. Englishsonnet

Borrowed from Middle French sonnet, from Italian sonetto, from Old Occitan sonet (“a song”), diminutive of son (“song, sound”), from Latin sonus (“sound”).

More words from Middle French, Italian, Old Occitan

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans sonnet
  • sonnetverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Arabic سونيت
  • سونيتverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Bulgarian соне́т
  • соне́т (sonét)verse form consisting of fourteen lines
Catalan sonet
  • sonetverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Chinese Mandarin 十四行詩 /十四行诗, 商籟體 /商籁体
  • 十四行詩 /十四行诗 (shísìhángshī)verse form consisting of fourteen lines
  • 商籟體 /商籁体 (shānglàitǐ)verse form consisting of fourteen lines
Czech sonet
  • sonetverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Danish sonet
  • sonetverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Dutch sonnet, klinkdicht
  • sonnetverse form consisting of fourteen lines
  • klinkdichtverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Esperanto soneto
  • sonetoverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Estonian sonett
  • sonettverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Finnish sonetti
  • sonettiverse form consisting of fourteen lines
French sonnet
  • sonnetverse form consisting of fourteen lines
German Sonett
  • Sonettverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Greek σονέτο
  • σονέτο (sonéto)verse form consisting of fourteen lines
Hebrew סוֹנָטָה, שִׁיר זָהָב
  • סוֹנָטָה (sonáta)verse form consisting of fourteen lines
  • שִׁיר זָהָב (shir zaháv)verse form consisting of fourteen lines
Hungarian szonett
  • szonettverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Icelandic sonnetta
  • sonnettaverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Irish soinéad
  • soinéadverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Italian sonetto
  • sonettoverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Japanese ソネット
  • ソネット (sonetto)verse form consisting of fourteen lines
Korean 소네트
  • 소네트 (soneteu)verse form consisting of fourteen lines
Latvian sonets
  • sonetsverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Lithuanian sonètas
  • sonètasverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Norwegian sonett
  • sonettverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Persian متن ادبی
  • متن ادبی (matn-e adabi)verse form consisting of fourteen lines
Polish sonet
  • sonetverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Portuguese soneto
  • sonetoverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Romanian sonet
  • sonetverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Russian соне́т
  • соне́т (sonét)verse form consisting of fourteen lines
Spanish soneto
  • sonetoverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Swedish sonett
  • sonettverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Tagalog soneto, dalitlit
  • sonetoverse form consisting of fourteen lines
  • dalitlitverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Thai ซอนเน็ต
  • ซอนเน็ตverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Turkish sone
  • soneverse form consisting of fourteen lines
Ukrainian соне́т
  • соне́т (sonét)verse form consisting of fourteen lines
Welsh soned
  • sonedverse form consisting of fourteen lines

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with sonnet

bonnet
All rhymes →

Anagrams

Nestontensonsentonstonen
Cite this entry
APA

sonnet. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sonnet

MLA

“sonnet.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sonnet. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sonnet,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sonnet.

Source: sonnet on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.