Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1.
(prosody) a line of verse that lacks a syllable in the last metrical foot;
ADJECTIVE (1)
1.
(verse) metrically incomplete;
especially lacking one or more syllables in the final metrical foot;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Catalectic \Cat`a*lec"tic\, a. [L. catalecticus, Gr. ?
incomplete, fr. ? to leave off; kata` down, wholly + lh`gein
to stop.]
1. (Pros.) Wanting a syllable at the end, or terminating in
an imperfect foot; as, a catalectic verse.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Photog. & Chem.) Incomplete; partial; not affecting the
whole of a substance. --Abney.
[1913 Webster] Catalepsy
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
catalectic
adj 1: (verse) metrically incomplete; especially lacking one or
more syllables in the final metrical foot [ant:
acatalectic, hypercatalectic]
n 1: (prosody) a line of verse that lacks a syllable in the last
metrical foot