| rhopalic |
| Definition: A verse or a sentence in which each successive word has: (1) One more syllable than the previous word or (2) One more letter than the previous word. |
| Example:
(1) No effort continues unrewarded (increasing number of syllables) and (2)I do not know where (increasing number of letters) |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Greek rhopalos, a club that is thicker at one end. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation is from 1682: "Of Ropalic or Gradual Verses…. A Poem of this nature is to be found in Ausonius beginning thus…. " (a1682 Sir T. Browne Misc. Tracts vii. (1683) 125) |