"science of versification," 1760, from Latinized form of Greek he metrikē "prosody," plural of metron "meter, a verse; that by which anything is measured; measure, length, size, limit, proportion" (from PIE root *me- (2) "to measure"). Middle English had metrik "the branch of music which deals with measure or time" (late 15c.), from Medieval Latin metricus.
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