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caesura

[ si-zhoor-uh, -zoor-uh, siz-yoor-uh ]
/ sɪˈʒʊər ə, -ˈzʊər ə, sɪzˈyʊər ə /
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noun, plural cae·su·ras, cae·su·rae [si-zhoor-ee, -zoor-ee, siz-yoor-ee]. /sɪˈʒʊər i, -ˈzʊər i, sɪzˈyʊər i/.
Prosody. a break, especially a sense pause, usually near the middle of a verse, and marked in scansion by a double vertical line, as in know then thyselfpresume not God to scan.
Classical Prosody. a division made by the ending of a word within a foot, or sometimes at the end of a foot, especially in certain recognized places near the middle of a verse.
any break, pause, or interruption.
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Also cesura.

Origin of caesura

1550–60; <Latin, equivalent to caes(us) cut (past participle of caedere) (caed- cut + -tus past participle suffix) + -ūra-ure

OTHER WORDS FROM caesura

cae·su·ral, cae·su·ric, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use caesura in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for caesura

caesura
/ (sɪˈzjʊərə) /

noun plural -ras or -rae (-riː)
(in modern prosody) a pause, esp for sense, usually near the middle of a verse lineUsual symbol: ||
(in classical prosody) a break between words within a metrical foot, usually in the third or fourth foot of the line

Derived forms of caesura

caesural, adjective

Word Origin for caesura

C16: from Latin, literally: a cutting, from caedere to cut
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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