n. [ L., fr. Gr. &unr_; of six meters; (sc. &unr_;) hexameter verse; "e`x six + &unr_; 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 Aeneid of Virgil. In English hexameters accent takes the place of quantity. [1913 Webster] Leaped like the | roe when he | hears in the | woodland the | voice of the | huntsman. Longfellow. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] | 