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 pro|de|esse| vol|unt, aut| dele|scere| po|lete.