sonnet

[son-it]

noun

1. Prosody.,  a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to one of certain definite schemes, being in the strict or Italian form divided into a major group of 8 lines (the octave) followed by a minor group of 6 lines (the sestet), and in a common English form into 3 quatrains followed by a couplet.

verb (used without object)

1. Archaic.,  to compose sonnets.

verb (used with object)

1. Older Use.,  to celebrate in a sonnet or sonnets.

sonnet

/ ˈsɒnɪt /

noun

1. a verse form of Italian origin consisting of 14 lines in iambic pentameter with rhymes arranged according to a fixed scheme, usually divided either into octave and sestet or, in the English form, into three quatrains and a couplet

verb

1. (intr) to compose sonnets

2. (tr) to celebrate in a sonnet

sonnet

1. A lyric poem of fourteen lines, often about love, that follows one of several strict conventional patterns of rhyme. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, John Keats, and William Shakespeare are poets known for their sonnets.

Other Word Forms

• sonnetlike adjective
• outsonnet verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of sonnet¹

1550–60; < Italian sonnetto < Old Provençal sonet, equivalent to son poem (< Latin sonus sound ¹ ) + -et -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of sonnet¹

C16: via Italian from Old Provençal sonet a little poem, from son song, from Latin sonus a sound

Example Sentences

That rude clatter is his equivalent of a sonnet.

From Los Angeles Times

No one is writing social media sonnets about eating a yellow squash over the kitchen sink while wearing their ex’s oversized T-shirt, still scented with a perfume they stopped wearing last fall.

From Salon

He consumed everything from “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill to Shakespearean sonnets.

From Los Angeles Times

At Paul Revere Junior High, Russell won first place at a Shakespeare Festival for his sonnet recitation.

From Los Angeles Times

The sonnet sits in the miscellany alongside "politically charged" works from the 1640s - the decade of the English Civil War, fought between Royalists and Parliamentarians.

From BBC

Related Words

• ballad 
• composition 
• epic 
• lyric 
• poetry 
• rhyme 
• verse 
• writing