Wordul · all words

noun · 1 syllable · /proʊz/

PROSE

What does "PROSE" mean?

Ordinary written or spoken language without the structured rhythm or line breaks of verse.

Meanings

  1. Written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure. She wrote the report in plain prose so anyone could follow it.
  2. Dull, matter-of-fact, or commonplace quality or expression. The grand ceremony soon dissolved into the prose of cleanup and paperwork. figurative
  3. To write or speak in a tedious, drawn-out way. He prosed on about his garden until the guests grew restless. archaic

Word origin

From Latin 'prosa', short for 'prosa oratio' meaning 'straightforward speech', from 'prorsus' ('straight ahead'); via Old French 'prose' into English.

Remember it

PROSE reads straight across the page; its Latin parent 'prorsus' literally means 'straight ahead'.

A little poem

No line will break to let you breathe;
the sentence walks the field unfenced,
and meaning grows where rhyme would leave.

tercet

Wordplay

  • I tried to write poetry but it kept walking in a straight line - turns out it was prose all along.

What it teaches

Plainness is not the absence of art; the unbroken line still has to carry you somewhere.

Quick facts

What does PROSE mean?

Ordinary written or spoken language without the structured rhythm or line breaks of verse.

Is PROSE a valid word?

Yes — PROSE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is PROSE?

PROSE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.

Where does PROSE come from?

From Latin 'prosa', short for 'prosa oratio' meaning 'straightforward speech', from 'prorsus' ('straight ahead'); via Old French 'prose' into English.

What can PROSE teach us?

Plainness is not the absence of art; the unbroken line still has to carry you somewhere.

How players do

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