feet
usually have two syllables
iamb
unaccented, accented
trochee
accented, unaccented
anapest
two unaccented, one accented
dactyl
accented, two unaccented
pyrrhic
two unaccented
spondee
two accented
trimeter
three feet
meter
how many feet per line
tetrameter
four feet
pentameter
five feet
hexameter
six feet
heptameter
seven feet
ballad stanza
a seven foot line often breaks into 4 & 3, called a "ballad stanza" (ex. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound)
octameter
eight feet
latent
overpowering
harpies
refers to Greek mythological creatures who are sea nymphs, daughters of Nereus
epigraph
a quotation or short poem at the beginning of some piece of writing
epigram
a witty saying
epistle
especially a long, formal letter
epithet
a defamatory or abusive word or phrase
epitome
a standard or typical example
utilitarian
someone who believes that the value of a thing depends on its usefulness
prima facie
at first glance; undeniable
de jure
by right
correlative conjunction
pairs of words that connect words, phrases or clauses. Examples: both...and, either....or, not only...but also.
conjunctive adverb
a type of adverb that creates logical connections between independent clauses (ie. therefore, however, moreover)
coordinating conjunction
a conjunction (like 'and' or 'or') that connects two identically constructed grammatical constituents
subordinate conjunction
a conjunction (like 'since' or 'that' or 'who') that introduces a dependent clause
subordination
dependence of one syntactical element on another in a sentence
transitive mood
designating a verb that requires a direct object to complete the meaning
hortative mood
an exhortation that includes the speaker (Ex. Let's clean your room!)
CMS
Chicago Manual of Style
personal pronoun
refers to the person speaking (1st person) the person spoken to (2nd person) or the person place thing spoken about. (I, me, we, you, he, they...)
relative pronoun
a pronoun (as 'that' or 'which' or 'who') that introduces a relative clause referring to some antecedent
intensive pronoun
emphasizes its antecedent; adds emphasis to pronoun or named noun; examples: I MYSELF will go.
indefinite pronoun
refers to a person, place, thing, or idea that may or may not be specifically named
antecedent
the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers
predicate complement
a noun or pronoun in the predicate that describes the subject. Always follows a linking verb.
predicate adjective
an adjective that follows a linking verb and modifies the subject
predicate nominative
a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and renames or identifies the subject
predicate completer
word or word group that is in the predicate and that identifies the subject it refers to, may be a noun, pronoun, or a word group that functions as a noun, connected to the subject by a linking verb
linking verb
an equating verb (such as 'be' or 'become') that links the subject with the complement of a sentence
helping verb
is not the main verb in a phrase; are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer; includes any forms of TO BE
participle
verb form used as an adjective
participle phrase
a phrase containing a participle and any modifiers or complements
initialism
an abbreviation formed from first letters of a name
a.m.
ante meridiem
soliloquy
a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections
monologue
a (usually long) dramatic speech by a single actor
dialogue
a literary composition in the form of a conversation between two people
drama
a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
verbosity
an expressive style that uses excessive words
trite
repeated too often
ad hominen
argument attacking an individual's character rather than his or her position
dichotomy
being twofold
mood
ie. imperative, subjunctive, indicative, etc.
case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is a change in form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a noun may play the role of subject ("I kicked the ball"), of direct object ("John kicked me"), or of poss
tense
A verb tense shift is a shift in time, for example, from present to past, or past to future tense.
voice
A sentence is said to be in active voice when the subject performing the action is emphasized. A sentence is in passive voice when the subject performing the action is de-emphasized
person
first person vs. second person vs. third person
plenum
a general consensus
baleful
deadly or sinister
capitulate
acquiesce
topiary
contouring the landscape
lacuna
a blank gap or missing part
fiduciary
trustee, a person who holds assets in trust for a beneficiary
fraught
full of
loguacious
very talkative
coeval
a person of nearly the same age as another
lassitude
a feeling of lack of interest or energy
priori (reasoning)
deductive
inductive
proceeding from particular facts to a general conclusion
deductive
general to specific
posteriori
knowledge from experience
empirical
derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
logistics
management of resources
propitiate
make peace with
immured
enclosed within; imprisoned
hostler
someone employed in a stable to take care of the horses
homogeneous
all of the same or similar kind or nature (spelling)
ostinato
a musical phrase repeated over and over during a composition (spelling)
simpatico
nice (spelling)
simulacrum
a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture (spelling)
patina
a fine coating of oxide on the surface of a metal (spelling)
irreparable
impossible to repair, rectify, or amend (spelling)
extemporize
perform without preparation (spelling)
diaphanous
so thin as to transmit light (spelling)
asymptote
a straight line that is the limiting value of a curve (spelling)
chrysanthemum
any of numerous perennial Old World herbs having showy brightly colored flower heads of the genera Chrysanthemum (spelling)
algorithm
a precise rule, or set of rules, specifying how to solve some problem (spelling)
weimaraner
large breed of hound having a smooth grayish coat (spelling)
psaltery
an ancient stringed instrument similar to the lyre or zither but having a trapezoidal sounding board under the strings (spelling)
palimpsest
a manuscript, usually written on papyrus or parchment, on which more than one text has been written with the earlier writing incompletely erased and still visible (spelling)
labyrinthine
highly involved or intricate (spelling)
limerick
a humorous verse form of 5 anapestic lines with a rhyme scheme aabba
sonnet
a verse form consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme
haiku
3 unrhymed lines (5, 7, 5) usually focusing on nature
free verse
unrhymed verse without a consistent metrical pattern
allegory
an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances
malign
speak unfavorably about
synechdoche
Uses a part to explain a whole or a whole to explain a part. (Ex. Lend me an ear -AND- All hands on deck)
litotes
understatement for rhetorical effect (especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary)
zeugma
The use of a word to modify two or more words, but used for different meanings. He closed the door and his heart on his lost love.
paradox
(logic) a self-contradiction
parallelism
the use of a series of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical form
finite verb
a verb form limited in person and number; you can tell an implied subject from the ending.
auxiliary verb
Also known as a helping verb (E.g. I walking --> I AM walking.)
comma conjunction
joining words like, and, but or so (FANBOYS)
non sequiter
a statement that does not logically relate to what comes before it
ad hominem
appealing to personal considerations (rather than to fact or reason)
post hoc
an argument based on misunderstanding cause and effect
idee fixe
a fixed idea; an obsession.
dangling phrase
When a phrase that is being used as a modifier lacks a word to modify
coordination
the grammatical relation of two constituents having the same grammatical form
hegira
flight from danger (definition)
outre
eccentric (definition)
sublimation
the psychological process by which aggressive impulses are displaced into a more socially acceptable activity (definition)
banality
commonplace quality (definition)
paradigm
illustrative models (definition)
caryatid
a supporting column in the shape of a woman (definition)
ossuary
a container for the bones of the dead (definition)
orthography
the study of spelling (definition)
lintel
door frame (definition)
hegemony
political dominance over a country's neighbors (definition)
factotum
all-around assistant (definition)
inferred
deduced (definition)
tintinabulation
sound of bells (definition)
sociobiology
the science of genetically determined social behavior (definition)
crepuscular
pertaining to twilight (spelling)
euphemistically
less offensively (spelling)
effeminate
having womanly traits (spelling)
importunate
urging; demanding (spelling)
hyperbolical
having the nature of exaggeration (spelling)
parabola
a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the curve (spelling)
telemetry
sending information over a distance by machines (spelling)
genome
the ordering of genes in a haploid set of chromosomes of a particular organism (spelling)
ecstasy
extreme happiness (spelling)
allotrope
different forms of the same element having different molecular structures (spelling)
mesomorph
a person with a well-developed muscular body (spelling)
spandrel
an approximately triangular surface area between two adjacent arches and the horizontal plane above them (spelling)
googolplex
a one with 100 zeros following it (spelling)
Ptolemaic
of or relating to the astronomer Ptolemy (spelling)
philippic
a speech of violent denunciation (spelling)