Rhopalic Verse
Preserved but no longer current.
Verse consisting of lines in which each successive word has more syllables than the one preceding it (Gr. rhopalon, a club, which is much thicker at one end than at the other).
Thi văn gồm các dòng có mỗi từ tiếp theo có nhiều âm tiết hơn từ trước
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Rhopalic Verse” mean?
Verse consisting of lines in which each successive word has more syllables than the one preceding it (Gr. rhopalon, a club, which is much thicker at one end than at the other).
Is “Rhopalic Verse” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.