Home › Glossary › Letter L

Lesbian dimeter

Meter
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A metrical dimeter pattern historically associated with the lyrical poetry of ancient Lesbos, especially Sappho’s verse.

Detailed Definition
Lesbian dimeter is a two-foot line of verse modeled after the Aeolic meters of Sappho, typically combining dactyls and trochees in a concise, emotive structure; its brevity intensifies lyrical focus, making it ideal for expressing personal feeling or epigrammatic insight in the Sapphic tradition.
Example
Example in poetry:
A line of quantitative verse consisting of two metrical feet, possibly associated with a form used by Sappho or Alcaeus, such as a shortened version of the Greater or Lesser Sapphic line
Additional Notes
Lesbian dimeter: An informal or metaphorical term; dimeter means a line with two metrical feet; this likely refers to a short line with two feet focused on lesbian themes.
Also Known As
Sapphic dimeter lesbian dimeter form Aeolic dimeter
Skip to main content