HEXAMETER, carmen hexametrum, in ancient poetry, a kind of verse consisting of six feet; the first four of which may be indifferently either spondees or dactyls, the fifth is generally a dactyl, and the sixth always a spondee. Such is the following verse of Horace:
1 2 3 4 5 6
Aut prædese vespunt, aut delectare pœta.