Catalectic

adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A line with incomplete meter, lacking a syllable at the end or ending with an incomplete foot.
  2. 2
    (prosody) a line of verse that lacks a syllable in the last metrical foot wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    (said of a line with incomplete meter) lacking a syllable at the end or ending with an incomplete foot.
  2. 2
    incomplete; partial; not affecting the whole of a substance

    "The process is not practised to any extent , but is a curious example of a catalectic action started by the impact of light"

Adjective
  1. 1
    (verse) metrically incomplete; especially lacking one or more syllables in the final metrical foot wordnet

Example

More examples

"The process is not practised to any extent , but is a curious example of a catalectic action started by the impact of light"

Etymology

From Latin catalecticus, from Ancient Greek καταληκτικός (katalēktikós, “leaving off, incomplete”) from κατάληξις (katálēxis).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.