drott-kvaett

noun

ˈdrōtˌkfāt

plural -s

: an Old Icelandic verse consisting of a stanza of eight regular lines with a complex pattern of internal and terminal rhyme, alliteration, and especially alternation of consonance with full rhyme at the ends of lines

Word History

Etymology

modification of Old Norse drōttkvæthr, drōttkvæthi, from drōtt retinue + -kvæthr, kvæthi poem, from kvetha to say, speak, recite

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