Hex*am"e*ter , a. Having six metrical feet, especially dactyls and
spondees. Holland.
Hex*am"e*ter (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?; of six meters; (sc. &?;) hexameter verse; "e`x six + &?;
measure: cf. F.
hexamètre. See Six, and Meter.]
(Gr. & Lat.
Pros.) A verse of six feet, the first four of which
may be either dactyls or spondees, the fifth must regularly be a dactyl, and the sixth
always a spondee. In this species of verse are
composed the Iliad of Homer and the
Æneid of Virgil. In English hexameters accent takes the place of quantity.
Leaped like the | roe
when he | hears in the | woodland the | voice of the |
huntsman.
Longfellow.
Strongly it |
bears us a- | long on | swelling and | limitless | billows,
Nothing be- | fore and | nothing be- | hind but the |
sky and the
| ocean.
Coleridge.
Hear it pronounced