Checklist of Greek (G) and Indic (I) Metrical Terminology

GI acephaly: truncation of the verse-initial syllable
G Adonic: – – ⏓
G Aeolic base: the ⏓ ⏓ in Glyconic and Pherecratic verses (q.v.)
G Aeolic meters: Glyconics, Pherecratics (q.v.), and their derivatives
G antistrophe: a second stanza metrically matching a first stanza (= strophe)
I Anuṣṭubh: Vedic stanza with 4 octosyllables
G Asclepiad: ⏓ ⏓ – – – ⏓, derivative of the Glyconic
G Asynartetic: relating to verses where word-breaks mark the beginnings and ends of metrical units
I Bhārgavā verses: Vedic hendecasyllables with closing
I Bṛhatī: Vedic stanza with 4 verses, consisting of 8 8 12 8 syllables
G bucolic diaeresis: word-break between the 4th and 5th feet of dactylic hexameter (see also ‘diaeresis’)
GI caesura: word-break in a verse
GI catalexis: deletion of the ⏓ that is the last syllable of the verse; the next-to-last syllable then becomes the new ⏓
G choriamb: –
G choriambic dimeter: ⏓ ⏓ ⏓ ⏓ –
G dactyl: the foot –
G dactylic hexameter: – ⏔ – ⏔ – ⏔ – ⏔ – ⏔ – ⏓
G Dactylo-Epitrite versification: combinations of dactylic and iambic sequences
GI decasyllable: a verse consisting of 10 syllables
G diaeresis: word-break between feet, not within feet
GI dimeter: octosyllable or heptasyllable (by catalexis)
GI distich: a metrical unit consisting of two verses
GI dodecasyllable: a verse consisting of 12 syllables
G dovetailing: a process whereby the expected word-break is run over by one syllable
I Dvipadā Virāj: Vedic stanza with two distichs consisting of 5 5 syllables:
⏓ – – ⏓ || ⏓ – – ⏓
⏓ – – ⏓ || ⏓ – – ⏓
G elegiac pentameter: – ⏔ – ⏔ – || –
GI enjambment: a process whereby a fixed word-group is carried over from one verse to the next
G Enkomiologikon: – – || – – – ⏓
G Enoplion: ⏓ – – ⏓
G epode: the third stanza in certain hymnic structures, formally distinct from the strophe and antistrophe (q.v.); hymns with strophe/antistrophe/epode are called ‘triadic’
G foot: a metrical unit such as the dactyl (– ) or spondee (– –)
I Gāyatrī: Vedic stanza with 3 octosyllables
G Glyconic: ⏓ ⏓ –
G Hemiepes (´):– – (⏓)
GI hendecasyllable: a verse consisting of 11 syllables
G hephthemimeral caesura: word-break after the long of the 4th foot in dactylic hexameter
GI heptasyllable: a verse consisting of 7 syllables
G Hermann’s bridge: constraint against word-break after – in the 4th foot of dactylic hexameter
G hexameter: a verse consisting of 6 feet
G Hipponacteum: ⏓ ⏓ – – ⏓
GI hypersyllabism: extra syllable in a verse, at either end
G iamb: ⏓ –
G Iambelegos: ⏓ – – – || –
GI iambic: having the basic pattern … –…
G iambic dimeter: ⏓ – – ⏓ –
G iambic trimeter: ⏓– –⏓– –⏓–
I Jagatī: Vedic stanza with 4 dodecasyllables, closing
G Lekythion: – – ⏓ –
GI octosyllable: a verse consisting of 8 syllables
G pentameter: a verse consisting of 5 feet
G penthemimeral caesura: word-break after the long of the 3rd foot in dactylic hexameter
G Pherecratic: ⏓ ⏓ – – ⏓, the catalectic variant of a Glyconic
G polyschematist: featuring free alternation of verses like Glyconics and choriambic dimeters
G Prosodiakon: ⏓ –
G Sapphic pentameter: Aeolic base (one quasi-foot) plus 4 dactyls = 5 ‘feet’
I Satobṛhatī: Vedic stanza with 4 verses, consisting of 12 8 12 8 syllables
G spondee: the foot – –
G strophe: stanza
G Synartetic: relating to verses where the expected word-breaks are run over
G Telesilleion: ⏓ –
GI trimeter: dodecasyllable or hendecasyllable (by catalexis)
I Triṣṭubh: Vedic stanza with 4 hendecasyllables, closing – ⏓
GI trochaic: having the basic pattern …–
G trochaic caesura: word-break after – in the 3rd foot of dactylic hexameter
G trochee: – – ⏓
I Uṣṇih-A/B: Vedic stanza consisting of 8 8 12 / 8 8 8 4 syllables