Strophic

strophe |ˈstrōfē|

noun

the first section of an ancient Greek choral ode or of one division of it. Compare with antistrophe.

• a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of varying line-length, especially an ode or free verse poem.

DERIVATIVES

strophic |-fik; ˈsträ-| adjective

ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Greek strophē, literally ‘turning,’ from strephein ‘to turn’ ; the term originally denoted a movement from right to left made by a Greek chorus, or lines of choral song recited during this.

antistrophe |anˈtistrəfē|

noun

the second section of an ancient Greek choral ode or of one division of it. Compare with strophe.

ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (as a term in rhetoric denoting the repetition of words in reverse order): via late Latin from Greek antistrophē, from antistrephein ‘turn against,’ from anti ‘against’ + strephein ‘to turn.’