Verse Comes From Ploughing
Verse is writing arranged in lines. The Latin word describes the turn a ploughman makes at the end of a furrow.
Verse is writing arranged in metrical lines, and also a numbered division of a chapter. The image is agricultural: Latin *versus* meant a turning, from *vertere*, to turn, and named the turn a ploughman makes at the end of a furrow before starting back the other way. A line of poetry turns at its end in exactly the same way. Ancient Greek writing sometimes ran in alternating directions, called *boustrophedon*, as the ox turns.
- Metrical writing. *Blank verse.*
- A stanza. *The second verse.*
- A scripture division. *Chapter and verse.*
- Versus — a turning. *Versus.*
- Latin — *vertere*, to turn. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | verse | A verse. |
| Plural | verses | Verses. |
| Related | versify | Versify. |
| Related | reverse | Reverse. |
| Latin | vertere | To turn. |
- The poem is in blank verse.Poetry.
- Chapter three, verse ten.Scripture.
- Versus meant a furrow's turn.Etymology.
The vertere family
- Verse — a line that turns at its end
- Reverse — to turn back
- Convert — to turn together, to change
- Versatile — able to turn to many things
- Vertigo — a turning sensation
Latin *versus*, a line or row, literally a turning, from *vertere*, to turn.
Why does verse come from ploughing?
Latin versus named the turn at the end of a furrow. A line of poetry turns back at its end in the same way.
What is boustrophedon?
An ancient writing style where lines alternate direction, literally as the ox turns while ploughing.