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verse1

verse

 
 
pronunciation:
vuhrs
features:
Word Combinations (noun), Word History, Word Explorer, Word Parts
part of speech: noun
definition 1: poetry or a poem.
He bought a book of verse.
similar words:
poem, poetry
definition 2: one line or one section of a poem.
We memorized three verses of the poem.
definition 3: a section of a song.
Most people know only the first verse of "America the Beautiful."
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Word History
The word verse goes back to the Latin versus, which means "a line of writing or poetry." This Latin word came from another Latin word, vertere, which means "to turn." What did lines of poetry have to do with turning? Think of the action of a farmer plowing a field, turning around at the end of one plowed row or line to make another line for planting. Note: Vert- is an important Latin word-part, or root, in the English language: you can find it in the words convert (to turn something into something else), invert (to turn something upside-down) and vertigo, the word doctors use for "dizziness."
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  literature, music
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