versify

V4E1R1S1I1F4Y4
/ˈvɜː(ɹ)sɪfaɪ/

verb

to make or compose verses

Similar
versepoetizepoetise
OriginMiddle English versifien ← Old French versifier ← Latin versificare →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

verbversify (third-person singular simple present versifies, present participle versifying, simple past and past participle versified)

present singular third person versifies · participle present versifying · participle past versified · past versified

  1. ambitransitiveto make or compose verses

    I'll versify in spite, and do my best.

    1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The First Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC
  2. transitiveto tell in verse; deal with in verse form
  3. transitiveto turn (prose) into poetry; rewrite in verse form

Synonyms & antonyms

verbcompose verses or put into verse

Similar
versepoetizepoetise
Broader
writecomposepen
Also see
poetisepoetizeverse

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wert-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wértetor
  3. Proto-Italic*wertō
  4. Latinvertō
  5. Latinversus
  6. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁k-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*dʰh₁kyéti
  9. Proto-Italic*θakjō
  10. Proto-Italic*fakjō
  11. Latinfaciō
  12. Latinversifico
  13. Latinversificare
  14. Old Frenchversifier
  15. Middle Englishversifien
  16. Englishversify

From Middle English versifien, from Old French versifier, learned borrowing from Latin versificāre (“versify”), from versus (see verse) + faciō (“make”).

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic نَظَمَ
  • نَظَمَ (naẓama)ambitransitive: to make or compose verses
Bulgarian пиша стихове
  • пиша стихове (piša stihove)ambitransitive: to make or compose verses
Czech veršovat, zveršovat
  • veršovatambitransitive: to make or compose verses
  • zveršovattransitive: to tell in verse; deal with in verse form
  • veršovattransitive: to tell in verse; deal with in verse form
  • zbásnittransitive: to tell in verse; deal with in verse form
  • veršovattransitive: to turn prose into poetry; rewrite in verse form
  • zveršovattransitive: to turn prose into poetry; rewrite in verse form
  • zbásnittransitive: to turn prose into poetry; rewrite in verse form
German versifizieren
  • versifizierentransitive: to turn prose into poetry; rewrite in verse form
Portuguese versar, versejar
  • versarambitransitive: to make or compose verses
  • versejarambitransitive: to make or compose verses
  • versificarambitransitive: to make or compose verses
  • versartransitive: to tell in verse; deal with in verse form
  • versejartransitive: to tell in verse; deal with in verse form
  • versificartransitive: to tell in verse; deal with in verse form
  • versartransitive: to turn prose into poetry; rewrite in verse form
  • versejartransitive: to turn prose into poetry; rewrite in verse form
  • versificartransitive: to turn prose into poetry; rewrite in verse form
Romanian versifica
  • versificaambitransitive: to make or compose verses
Swedish versifiera
  • versifieratransitive: to turn prose into poetry; rewrite in verse form
Ukrainian віршува́ти, віршува́ти
  • віршува́ти (viršuváty)ambitransitive: to make or compose verses
  • віршува́ти (viršuváty)transitive: to tell in verse; deal with in verse form
Cite this entry
APA

versify. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/versify

MLA

“versify.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/versify. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “versify,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/versify.

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