A line of verse or poetry that contains seven metrical feet or beats.
From Greek 'hepta' (seven) + 'pous' (foot) + '-y' (noun-forming suffix). Developed as a technical term in classical literary analysis to categorize verse structure alongside pentameter and hexameter.
Just as hexapody is six beats and pentameter is five, heptapody is seven—it's the classical world's way of creating a longer line that sounds more majestic or expansive, like stretching out the rhythm of speech into something grander.
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