Etymology
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catalectic (adj.)

1580s, of a line of verse, "wanting an unaccented syllable in the last foot," from Late Latin catalecticus, from Greek katalektikos "leaving off," from kata "down" (see cata-) + legein "to leave off, cease from," from PIE root *sleg- "be slack, be languid." A complete line is said to be acatalectic.

updated on October 22, 2017

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