couplet

cou·plet

noun \ˈkə-plət\

Definition of COUPLET

1

: two successive lines of verse forming a unit marked usually by rhythmic correspondence, rhyme, or the inclusion of a self-contained utterance : distich

2

: couple

Examples of COUPLET

1. a poem made up of six couplets
2. <a couplet of statues flank the entrance to the church>

Origin of COUPLET

Middle French, diminutive of Old French cuple, couple

First Known Use: 1580

Related to COUPLET

Synonyms

brace, couple, pair, duo, dyad, twain, twosome

Related Words

span, yoke; partnership, team; companion, complement, doublet, fellow, half, match, mate, twin; coordinate, counterpart, equal, equivalent, like, parallel, peer, rival

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

couplet

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Two successive lines of verse. A couplet is marked usually by rhythmic correspondence, rhyme, or the inclusion of a self-contained utterance. Couplets may be independent poems, but they usually function as parts of other verse forms, such as the Shakespearean sonnet, which concludes with a couplet. A couplet that cannot stand alone is an open couplet; a couplet whose sense is relatively independent is a closed couplet.