strophe means A turn in verse, as from one metrical foot to another, or from one side of a chorus to the other. It carries an Arena rating of 1509, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, strophe ranks #518 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,562 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #4,555 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #5,543 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
strophe is pronounced /ˈstɹəʊ.fi/.
Why “strophe” is a great word
A structural division in a poem, especially a stanza or a turn in an ancient Greek ode sung by the chorus while moving in one direction. From the Latin *stropha*, itself from the Ancient Greek στροφή (*strophḗ*, "a turn, bend, twist"), first recorded in English use 1595–1605. Unlike "stanza"—a general grouping of lines—or "verse"—which can denote a single line or poetry itself—strophe carries the weight of physical motion and ritual. It is the leftward sweep of choristers across the amphitheater, the pivot of bronze-lit feet on sun-warmed stone, the measured arc of a call awaiting its antistrophic answer—the architecture of song built from the turning body, where poetry is not only heard but seen in motion.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin stropha, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek στροφή (strophḗ, “a turn, bend, twist”). Compare strap and strop. Compare typologically rehearsal, rehearse (related to French herser (“to harrow”) << Latin hirpex, another meaning shift from the idea of turning).
noun
- A turn in verse, as from one metrical foot to another, or from one side of a chorus to the other.
- The section of an ode that the chorus chants as it moves from right to left across the stage.
- A pair of stanzas of alternating form on which the structure of a given poem is based.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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