verse 
the Earl of Surrey (d. 1647), in his translation of the second 
and fourth books of the .-Eneid. It was first employed in 
the drama in Sackville and Norton's tragedy of " Ferrex 
and Porrex," which was printed in 1565 ; but it was not till 
Marlowe adopted it in his play of (; Tamburlaine the Great" 
that it became the form regularly employed in the metri- 
cal drama, which it has since with only occasional inter- 
vals remained. After Milton's use of it in " Paradise Lost " 
it was widely extended to many other classes of compo- 
sition. Elegiac verse. See elegiac, i . Fesoennine 
verses. See Fescamine. Heroic, Hipponactean, long, 
Saturnian, serpentine, society, etc., verse. See the 
qualifying words. To cap verses. See capl. Verse 
Lyont. See the quotation. 
Another of their pretie inueutions was to make a verse 
of such wordes as by their nature and manner of construc- 
tion and situation might be turned backward word by 
word, and make another perflt verse, but of quite con- 
trary sence, as the gibing monks that wrote of Pope Alex- 
ander these two verses. 
Laus tua non tua fraus, virtus non copia reruni, 
Scandere te faciunt hoc decus eximium. 
Which if ye will turne backward they make two other 
good verses, but of contrary sence ; thus, 
Eximium decus hoc faciunt te scandere, reruni 
Copia, non virtus, fraus tua non tua laus. 
And they called it Verxe Lyon. 
Pidtenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 11. 
verse 2 (vers), v. [< verse 2 , K.] I. trans. Tore- 
late or express in verse ; turn into verse or rime. 
Playing on pipes of corn, and versing love. 
Shale., M. N. D., ii. 1. 67. 
He fringed its sober grey with poet-bays, 
And verged the Psalms of David to the air 
Of Yankee-Doodle, for Thanksgiving-days. 
II. in trans. To make verses. 
Halleck. 
It is not riming and versing that maketh a Poet, no 
more then a long gowne maketh an Aduocate. 
Sir P. Sidney, Apol. for Poetrie (ed. Arber), p. 29. 
vers6 (ver-sa'), [F., pp. of verser, turn : see 
verse 1 .} In her., reversed or turned in a direc- 
tion unusual to the bearing in question. Also 
reuvcrse. 
verse-anthem (vers'an"them), . In Eng. 
church music, an anthem for soloists as con- 
trasted with a full anthem, which is for a cho- 
rus. The term is also applied to an anthem 
that begins with a passage for solo voices. 
verse-colored (vers'kul"ord), a. Same as ver- 
sicolor. 
versed (verst), a. [< verse^ + -ed 2 , after F. verse. 
Cf. versant, conversant.] 1. Conversant or ac- 
quainted; practised; skilled: with in. 
They were . . . very well versed in the politer parts of 
learning, and had travelled into the moat refined nations 
of Europe. Addison, Ancient Medals, i. 
He is admirably well versed in screws, springs, and 
hinges, and deeply read in knives, combs, or scissors, but- 
tons, or buckles. SUele, Tatler, No. 142. 
He seemed to he a man more than ordinarily verged in 
the use of astronomical instruments. 
Bruce, Source of the Nile, I. 255. 
Versed in all the arts which win the confidence and af- 
fection of youth. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. 
2. Turned; turned over Versed sine, supple- 
mental versed sine. See sinea. 
verselet (vers'let), re. [< verse* + -Jet.} A little 
verse : used in contempt. 
Moreover, he wrote weak little verselets, like very-much- 
diluted Wordsworth, abounding in passages quotable for 
Academy pictures of bread-and-butter children. 
E. Yates, Broken to Harness, xxi. 
verse-maker (vers'ma"ker), re. One who writes 
verses ; a rimer. Boswell. 
verse-making (vers'ma/'king), n. The act or 
process of making verses ; riming. 
He had considerable readiness, too, in verge-making. 
Atheweum, No. 3245, p. 17. 
verseman (vers'man), n. ; pi. versemen (-men). 
[< verse 2 + man.'] A writer of verses: used 
humorously or in contempt. 
The God of us Verse-men (you know, Child), the sun. 
Prior, Better Answer to Cloe Jealous. 
I'll join St. Blaise (a verseman fit, 
More fit than I, once did it). 
F. Locker, The Jester's Moral. 
verse-monger (vers'mung"ger), n. A maker 
of verses; a rimer; a poetaster. 
ver se-mongering ( vers ' mung " ger - ing), n. 
Verse-writing; especially, the making of poor 
verses. 
The contemporary verse-mongering south of the Tweed. 
Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 126. 
verser 1 ! (ver'ser), n. [Appar. < verse* + -eri.] 
One who tricks or cheats at cards ; a sharper. 
And so was faine to Hue among the wicked, sometimes 
a stander for the padder [the stander was the sentinel to 
the padder or footpad], sometimes a verser for the cony- 
cacher [the coney or rabbit was the dupe, the coney- 
catcher the sharper who enticed the coney to be fleeced 
by the verser or card-sharper]. 
Sibton-Turner, Vagrants and Vagrancy, p. 583. 
verser 2 (ver'ser), re. [< verse* + -ej-1.] A maker 
of verses ; a versifier ; a poet or a poetaster. 
6734 
Though she have a better verser got 
(Or Poet in the court-account) than I. 
II. Jonson, The Forest, xii. 
He [Ben Jonson] thought not Bartas a Poet, but a Verser, 
because he wrote not Fiction. 
Drummond, (.'onv. of Ben Jonson (Works, ed. 1711, p. 224), 
verse-service (vers'ser"vis), n. In Eng. church 
mimic, a choral service for solo voices. Com- 
pare verse-anthem. 
verset (ver'set), n. [< F. verset, dim. of vers, 
verse: see verse^.] If. A verse, as of Scrip- 
ture; a versicle. 
They beare an equal! part with Priest in many places, 
and have their cues and versets as well as he. 
Milton, On Def. of Humb. Remonst. 
2. In music, a short piece of organ-music suit- 
able for use as an interlude or short prelude in 
a church service. 
verse-tale (vers'tal), n. A tale written or told 
in verse. 
Many of the verse tales are bright and spirited, and even 
pathos and melancholy are tempered by a certain quiet 
sometimes satirical humour. 
The Academy, Oct. 12, 1889, p. 232. 
versicle (ver'si-kl), n. [< L. versiculus, a little 
verse, dim. of versus, a verse: see verse.] A 
little verse ; specifically, in liturgies, one of a 
succession of short verses said or sung alter- 
nately by the officiant and choir or people; 
especially, the verse said by the officiant or 
leader as distinguished from the response (I*) 
of the choir or congregation. See verse, 2 (b). 
The name of the versicles is sometimes given distinctively 
to the versicles and responses (precis) after the creed at 
morning and evening prayer in the Anglican Church. The 
liturgical sign of the versicle, used in prayer-books, is )|". 
Doe it for thy name, Doe it for thy goodnesse, for thy 
ceuenant, thy law, thy glory, &c., in seuerall versicles. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 198. 
The Gloria Patri was composed by the Nicene Council, 
the latter versicle by St. Jerome. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 255. 
versicolor, versicolour (ver'si-kul-or), . [< 
L. versicolor, versicolorus, that changes its color, 
< versare, change (seei'er** 1 ), + color: see col- 
or.] 1. Having several different colors; party- 
colored; variegated in color. 
Chains, girdles, rings, versicolour ribands. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 478. 
2. Changeable in color, as the chameleon ; 
glancing different hues or tints in different 
lights; iridescent; sheeny. Also versicolorate. 
Also verse-colored, versicolored, versieolorous. 
versicolorate (ver-si-kul'or-at), a. [< versicolor 
+ -afel.] In entom., same as versicolor, 2. 
versicolored (ver'si-kul-ord), a. [< versicolor 
+ -ed 2 .} Same as versicolor: as, versicolored 
plumage; "a versicolored cloak," Landor. 
versieolorous (ver-si-kul'or-us), a. [< versi- 
color + -OM*.] Same as versicolor. 
versicular (ver-sik'u-lar), a. [< L. versiculus, 
dim. of versus, verse (see versicle).] Pertaining 
to verses; designating distinct divisions of a 
writing: as, a versicular division. 
versification (ver"si-n-ka'shon), n. [< F. ver- 
sification = Sp. versificacion = Pg. versificaqao 
= It. versificazione, < L. versificatio(n-) , < versi- 
ficare, versify: see versify.] The act, art, or 
practice of composing poetic verse ; the con- 
struction or measure of verse or poetry ; met- 
rical composition. 
Donne alone . . . had your talent ; but was not happy 
enough to arrive at your versification. 
Lryden, Essay on Satire. 
Bad versification alone will certainly degrade and ren- 
der disgustful the sublimest sentiments. 
Qoldsmith, Poetry Distinguished from Other Writing. 
The theory that versification is not an indispensable 
requisite of a poem seems to have become nearly obsolete 
in our time. Encyc. Brit., XIX. 259. 
versificator (ver'si-fi-ka-tor), n. [< F. versifica- 
teur = Sp. Pg. versificador = It. versificatore, < 
L. versificator, < versificare, versify: see versify.'] 
A versifier. [Rare.] 
I must farther add that Statins, the best versificator 
next to Virgil, knew not how to design after him, though 
he had the model in his eye. Dryden, Essay on Satire. 
Alliteration and epithets, which with mechanical versi- 
ficators are a mere artifice, . . charm by their conso- 
nance when they rise out of the emotions of the true 
poet. /. D'lsraeli, Amen, of Lit, II. 128. 
versificatrix (ver'si-fi-ka-triks), n. [< L. as if 
"versificatrix, fern, of versificator: see versifica- 
tor.] A woman who makes verses. [Rare.] 
In 1784 Beattie, writing of Hannah More, says that John- 
son "told me. with great solemnity, that she was 'the 
most powerful versificatrix' in the English language." 
Athen&um, No. 3244, p. 894. 
versifier (ver'si-fi-er), w. [< versify + -er 1 .] 1. 
One who versifies; one who makes verses; a 
poet. 
version 
Ther is a versifiour seith that the ydel man excuseth 
hym iu wynter bycause of the giete coold and in somer 
by enchesoun of the heete. Chaucer, Tale of Melibeus. 
There haue beetle many most excellent Poets that neuer 
versified, and now swarme many versifiers that neede neuer 
aunswere to the name of Poets. 
Sir P. Sidney, Apol. for Poetrie (ed. Arber), p. 28. 
2. One who expresses in verse the ideas of an- 
other; one who turns prose into verse; a maker 
of a metrical paraphrase : as, a versifier of the 
Psalms. 
versiform (ver'si-form), a. [< LL. versiformis, 
changeable, < L. versus, in lit. sense 'turning,' 
+ forma, form.] Varied or varying in form. 
versify (ver'si-fi), v . ; pret. and pp. versified, ppr. 
versifying. [< F. versifier = Sp. Pg. versificar 
= It. versificare^ L. versificare, put into verse, 
versify, < versus, verse, + facere, make, do (see 
-/;/)] I. trans. 1. To turn into verse; make 
a metrical paraphrase of: as, to versify the 
Psalms. 
The 30th Psalm was the first which Luther versified: 
then the 12th, 46th, llth, 53rd, C7th. 124th, and 128th, 
which last Huss had done before, and it was only mod- 
ernised by Luther. Burney, Hist. Music, III. 35, note. 
Our fair one . . . bade us versify 
The legend. Whittier, Bridal of Pennacook. 
2. To relate or describe in verse . treat as the 
subject of verse. 
I versify the truth. Daniel, Civil Wars, i. 
A lady loses her muff, her fan, or her lap-dog, and. so 
the silly poet runs home to versify the disaster. 
Goldsmith, Vicar, xvii. 
II. intrans. To make verses. 
I recey ved your letter, sente me laste weeke ; whereby 
I perceive you otherwhiles continue your old exercise of 
Versifying in Englishe. Spenser, To Gabriel Harvey. 
In terrifying he was attempting an art which he had 
never learned, and for which he had no aptitude. 
'Southey, Bunyan, p. 40. 
versing (ver'sing), n. [Verbal n. of verse 2 , v.~\ 
The act of writing verse. 
version (ver'shon), n. [< F. version = Sp. ver- 
sion = Pg. versao = It. versione, < ML. versio(n-), 
a turning, translation, < L. vertere, pp. versus, 
turn, translate: see verse 1 .] If. A turning 
round or about ; change of direction. 
The first was called the strophe, from the version or 
circular motion of the singers in that stanza from the right 
hand to the left. Conyreve, On the Pindaric Ode. 
What kind of comet, for magnitude, colour, version of 
the beams, placing in the region of heaven, or lasting, 
produceth what kind of effects. 
Bacon, Vicissitudes of Things (ed. 1887). 
2. A change or transformation ; conversion. 
The version of air into water. Bacon, Nat. Hist., 27. 
3. The act of translating, or rendering from one 
language into another. [Rare.] 4. A trans- 
lation; that which is rendered from another 
language. A list of versions of the Bible will 
be found under the word Bible. 
I received the Manuscript you sent me, and, being a 
little curious to compare it with the Original, I find the 
Version to be very exact and faithful. 
Howell, Letters, I. vi. 27. 
Better a dinner of herbs and a pure conscience than 
the stalled ox and infamy is my version. 
Sydney Smith, in Lady Holland, Iv. 
5. A statement, account, or description of in- 
cidents or proceedings from some particular 
point of view: as, the other party's version of 
the affair. 6. A school exercise consisting of 
a translation from one language, generally one's 
own, into another. 7. In obstet., a manipula- 
tion whereby a malposition of the child is recti- 
fied, during delivery, by bringing the head or the 
feet into the line of the axis of the parturient ca- 
nal ; turning. According as the feet or the head may be 
brought down, the operation is called podalic or cephalic 
version. Pelvic version is that which converts a mal- 
presentation into a breech-presentation. Version is called 
external when it is effected by external manipulation 
only, internal when it is performed by the hand within 
the parturient canal, and bimamtal or bipolar when one 
hand acting directly upon the child in the uterus is aided 
by the other placed upon the abdominal wall. 
8. In mathematical physics, the measure of the 
direction and magnitude of the rotation about a 
neighboring point produced by any vector func- 
tion distributed through space. Thus, if the vec- 
tor function is the velocity of a fluid at the different 
points of space, its curl or version is the rotation of that 
fluid at any point where its motion is rotational. The ad- 
vantage of the word version over rotation is that it is ap- 
plicable to cases where there is no motion : as, for example, 
to a stress. Italic version of the Bible. See Italic. 
Revised version (sometimes called the revision of the 
authorized version, or the new revision, or the revision sim- 
ply), a revision of the authorized or King James version 
of the Bible, executed by two companies of scholars, 
one working on the Old Testament, the other on the New 
Testament, 1870-84. The work was originated by the 
Convocation of the Province of Canterbury, England, in 
1870 ; subsequently the cooperation of American scholars 
