hypercatalexis

English

Etymology

Coined in the late 1880s as a back-formation from hypercatalectic, from Latin hypercatalēcticus, from Ancient Greek ὑπερκαταληκτικός (huperkatalēktikós), from ὑπερ- (huper-, “over”) + καταληκτικός (katalēktikós, “incomplete”)

Noun

hypercatalexis (uncountable)

1. (poetry) The addition of one or two syllables to the last foot of a verse

Related terms

• acatalectic
• catalectic