Meaning & use
ictus
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A sudden attack or seizure, such as a stroke, or the stressed beat in a line of verse.
See it in a sentence
The physician noted the patient's history of a prior ischemic ictus.
In scanning the poem, she marked the ictus on the first syllable of each foot.
A note on using this word
Ictus has two quite distinct technical uses: a sudden medical attack, especially a stroke, in medicine, and the stressed syllable or beat in a line of poetry in prosody.
Another way to use it
2. noun
The stressed syllable or rhythmic beat in a line of verse.
The poet placed the ictus on the second syllable of each line to create a driving rhythm.
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