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Verse

//ˈvɝs// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme. countable, uncountable

    "Restoration literature is well known for its carefully constructed verse."

  2. 2
    a piece of poetry wordnet
  3. 3
    Poetic form in general. countable, uncountable

    "The restrictions of verse have steadily been relaxed over time."

  4. 4
    a line of metrical text wordnet
  5. 5
    One of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed. countable, uncountable

    "Note the shift in tone between the first verse and the second."

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    literature in metrical form wordnet
  2. 7
    A small section of a holy book (Bible, Quran etc.) countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A portion of an anthem to be performed by a single voice to each part. countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To compose verses. obsolete

    "It is not rhyming and versing that maketh a poet."

  2. 2
    To oppose, to compete against. colloquial, proscribed, sometimes

    "When teams play now they "verse" each other. "Who did you verse?" (Forget "whom". It's long dead.) "We're versing you next." Pity the Latin scholar who might feel the loss of "versus" more keenly than many."

  3. 3
    familiarize through thorough study or experience wordnet
  4. 4
    To tell in verse, or poetry. transitive

    "playing on pipes of corn and versing love"

  5. 5
    compose verses or put into verse wordnet
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    to educate about, to teach about. figuratively, transitive

    "He versed us in the finer points of category theory."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English vers, from a mixture of Old English fers and Old French vers; both from Latin versus (“a line in writing, and in poetry a verse; (originally) row, furrow”), from vertō (“to turn around”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English vers, from a mixture of Old English fers and Old French vers; both from Latin versus (“a line in writing, and in poetry a verse; (originally) row, furrow”), from vertō (“to turn around”).

Etymology 3

Back-formation from versus, misconstrued as a third-person singular verb verses.

See also for "verse"

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