▪ I. monostich, n. Pros.
(ˈmɒnəʊstɪk)
Forms: 7–8 monostick, 7– monostich. Also 6, 8 in Gr. form monostichon.
[ad. late L. monostich-um, monostich-ium (Ausonius), a. Gr. µονόστιχον, neut. of µονόστιχος adj. consisting of one verse, f. µόνο-ς mono- + στίχος row, line, or verse. Cf. F. monostique adj. (a 1382 in Du Cange) and n.]
A poem or epigram consisting of but one metrical line.
| 1577 Kendall Flowers of Epigr. 104 b, This Monostichon here followyng, was written vpon the gate of the Monestarie of the Benedictines. 1607 J. Carpenter Plaine Mans Plough 38 [The seven works of mercy] aptly comprehended in this Monostich. Visito, poto, cibo, redimo, tego, colligo, condo. 1693 J. H. tr. Juvenal x. Ep. Ded. 3, I know not whether you have ever met with the following Monostick. 1708 Brit. Apollo No. 47. 1/1 That Celebrated Monostick, The Bashful Water saw her God, and Blusht. 1721 Bailey, Monostichon, an Epigram consisting of one single Verse. 1871 Browning Balaust. 169 Who could speak A chorus to the end, or prologize,..Or thrust and parry in bright monostich. 1891 Driver Introd. Lit. O.T. (1892) 342 Single lines or monostichs: these are found but rarely. |
▪ II. monostich, a.
(ˈmɒnəʊstɪk)
Also 7 monostick, 9 (sense 2) monostic.
[a. Gr. µονόστιχος (see prec.); in sense 2 a. F. monostique (Haüy).]
1. Pros. Consisting of a single line of verse.
| 1656 Blount Glossogr., Monostick, (monostichon) that which consists of one onely verse. 1895 W. R. W. Stephens Life & Lett. Freeman I. 37 It contains monostich passages. |
† 2. Min. = monostichous 1. Obs.
| 1805–17 R. Jameson Char. Min. (ed. 3) 211 Monostic topaz..is a slightly oblique eight sided prism, in which two and two lateral planes meet under very obtuse angles. |