Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A Japanese lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables, traditionally invoking an aspect of nature or the seasons.
- n. A poem written in this form.
Wiktionary
- n. A Japanese poem of a specific form, consisting of three lines, the first and last consisting of five morae, and the second consisting of seven morae, usually with an emphasis on the season or a naturalistic theme.
- n. A three-line poem in any language, with five syllables in the first and last lines and seven syllables in the second, usually with an emphasis on the season or a naturalistic theme.
- n. Plural form of haiku.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an epigrammatic Japanese verse form of three short lines
Etymologies
- From Japanese 俳句 (はいく, haiku). (Wiktionary)
- Japanese : hai, amusement (from Middle Chinese bəij, pha·j) + ku, sentence (from Middle Chinese kuəh). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The first movement sets 8 of Ashbery's "37 Haiku" — after a swooping-down glissando opening, each haiku is declaimed by a solo singer while the rest accompany on "ahs" and "oohs" derived from the word haiku itself.”
“Will probably write about the movie later (and not in haiku form as I think I have lots to say, just gotta let it gather in my mind for a few days, y'know).”
“This collection is actually a reprint of an anthology first published for Acorn Books, an independent publisher that specialises in haiku and minimalist poetry: an appropriate home for Mills's brevity.”
“Today it is like answering an interview question in haiku and thus allows those who have superior communication skills to succeed.”
Confucianism vs. Irrational Voters, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
“One may enter as many times as a haiku is written for southern books read this summer.”
“Extra points awarded for originality, coolness factor, and also for presentation (e.g. giving your idea in haiku form!)”
“But haiku is a quiet verse form close to natural speech, so you wonder if they will even notice.”
“Stillwater the panda returns and gets a visit from his nephew who speaks only in haiku”
“A short film inspired by a haiku from the Japanese poet Arakida Moritake.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘haiku’.
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Loanwords
Since English is littered with loanwords, everything could conceivably end up here. But there is a distinct feeling associated with these.. maybe they're young additions to the English language; I ...
iceberg, fjord, firth, abbey, abyss, anorak, apartheid, assassin, avalanche, avocado, balaclava, banana and 104 more...
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Language
word, sentence, novel, book, novella, vignette, memoir, anthology, paragraph, stanza, poem, haiku and 123 more...
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Artistic words
Good for poetry, or just artistic on their own.
fluxus, gallant, kinetic, lurk, disengage, mist, agleam, voyeur, devoid, crimson, ebony, azure and 94 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2053 more...
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Words for Haikus
Getting the Perfect Word for 5-7-5.
inevitable, serendipity, marvellous, expectations, aspirations, peculiar, zephyr, hubris, surreptitious, pennyroyal, quizzical, kaleidoscope and 19 more...
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The Japanese art of...
Words with definitions beginning with "The Japanese art of..." (or equivalent).
origami, kirigami, furoshiki, ikebana, makimono, ukiyo-e, netsuke, chindōgu, bonsai, naginatajutsu, butoh, Buyō and 30 more...
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Poetry Terms
April is National Poetry Month. Add your favorite poetry terms to this new list!
alliteration, anapest, alexandrine, caesura, assonance, ballad, blank verse, iamb, conceit, couplet, consonance, dactyl and 30 more...
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Potpourri
eponymous, aa, pulchritude, gizmo, macabre, sui generis, solecism, solipsism, eldritch, samizdat, queue, obsequious and 469 more...
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the first list
an immense, grandiloquent list that loads like a thousand years sentence in stone. new words are in the other lists.
ridiculous, brummagem, predicament, sanctimonious, vapid, eschew, admonish, auspicious, capitulation, enumerate, lachrymose, tenet and 1648 more...
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gcherches's Words
serendipity, roadrunner, inner child, coagulant, esquire, vicissitude, idiot savant, mitigation, affirmation, affirmative, diatribe, affirmative action and 185 more...
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curligirli0's Words
crapulous, swish, shiatsu, zen, xenoglossy, nincompoop, loquacious, pianissimo, onomatopoeia, imperturbable, silky, hosanas and 379 more...
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Sugarbuzz's Words
buzz, widget, haiku, manifesto, warble, supernova, attenuate, mania, diabolical, behemoth, beguile, lascivious and 106 more...
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patterns
ergodic, stochastic, stereopsis, echolocation, holocation, broker, map, intarsia, encipher, ocellus, muslin, mandelbrot set and 159 more...
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Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
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mandarine's Words
antepenultimate, metonymy, synecdoche, pop, kern, inherit, clique, scrumptious, macerate, murmur, kerning, veranda and 1068 more...
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Spelling Bee list 2011
Abalone, ablution, absolution, aboriginally, abstemious, academician, acclamation, accommodation, acculturation, acetic, acetone, acme and 590 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for haiku.
bilby
There was an old man
From Peru, whose lim'ricks all
Look'd like haiku. He
Said with a laugh "I
Cut them in half, the pay is
Much better for two."
- anon. Sep 27, 2009
bilby Brava. Jun 23, 2009
super-thegirlnextfloor In the 7th grade, we did haiku poems in class one day and I can still remember exactly what I wrote:
"One crystal tear falls
Followed by warm summer's mist
Sunshine dries my hate" Jun 23, 2009
tbtabby Clowns are raining down.
Hear the scream of the grease paint!
Danger! Clown puddles. Mar 8, 2009
chained_bear Haiku a bitter duck might write. Aug 26, 2008
uselessness Especially if
You're unusually fond
Of steroidal dimes. Jan 24, 2008
asativum You might be surprised
How well life can be condensed
Into a haiku.
Jan 24, 2008
oroboros Ukiah in reverse. Jul 22, 2007
oroboros Ah, sweet sunset glow
Softly, softly fading low
But oh! the bright moon Dec 23, 2006