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villanelle

noun
vil·​la·​nelle | \ ˌvi-lə-ˈnel How to pronounce villanelle (audio) \

Definition of villanelle

: a chiefly French verse form running on two rhymes and consisting typically of five tercets and a quatrain in which the first and third lines of the opening tercet recur alternately at the end of the other tercets and together as the last two lines of the quatrain

Examples of villanelle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 Her own verse often drew on classical forms such as the villanelle, sestina, tritina and sonnet, and sometimes incorporated references to ancient mythology and medieval legend. — Harrison Smith, Washington Post, "Marie Ponsot, elegant poet of the sea, stars and her seven-child family, dies at 98," 8 July 2019 But then, rarely does an individual strip contain a complete and proper villanelle about food. — Wired Blogs, WIRED, "Cat and Girl Gets Poetic," 22 Sep. 2006

First Known Use of villanelle

1877, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for villanelle

French, from Italian villanella

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