perissosyllabic

perissosyllabic /pə-ris-ō-si-labˈik/

adjective

Having an additional syllable

ORIGIN: Gr perissosyllabos, from perissos excessive, and syllabē syllable

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perissosyllabic, a.

(pəˌrɪsəʊsɪˈlæbɪk)

[f. Gr. περισσοσύλλαβ-ος having a syllable over (f. περισσός) + -ic.]

Having a redundant syllable or syllables.

perissosyllabic hexameter, a name for the ‘greater Archilochian’ measure, in which three trochees (or two trochees and a spondee) are substituted for the last two feet of the ordinary hexameter (as in Horace, Bk. i. Ode iv.).