poulter’s measure

poetry
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Print
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Related Topics:
metre
short metre

poulter’s measure, a metre in which lines of 12 and 14 syllables alternate. Poulter is an obsolete variant of poulterer (poultry dealer); poulterers traditionally gave one or two extra eggs when selling by the dozen.