Pen*tam"e*ter (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;; &?; (see Penta-) + &?; measure.] (Gr. & L.Pros.) A verse of five feet.

&fist; The dactylic pentameter consists of two parts separated by a diæresis. Each part consists of two dactyls and a long syllable. The spondee may take the place of the dactyl in the first part, but not in the second. The elegiac distich consists of the hexameter followed by the pentameter. Harkness.

Pen*tam"e*ter, a. Having five metrical feet.

• a line in a poem having five metrical feet
  
• a poetic metre in which each line has five feet