Stanza
/ˈstæn.zə/noun
A grouped set of lines in a poem, usually separated from other groups by a blank line.
Did you know?The word comes from Italian, where it meant a “room” or “standing place,” and poets used it for a fixed poetic chamber long before English turned it into a verse term.
Etymological Timeline
Late Latin
LL
stantia
“a standing place, station”
Italian
It
stanza
“a room, chamber; a stopping-place”
16th Century
English
stanza
“a stanza or stanzaic division in poetry”
Modern English
English
stanza
“a grouped division of lines in a poem”