Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STAN'ZA, n. [It. stanza, an abode or lodging, a stanza, that is, a stop; Sp. and Port. estancia, from estancar, to stop; Fr. stance. See Stanch.]

In poetry, a number of lines or verses connected with each other, and ending in a full point or pause; a part of a poem, containing every variation of measure in that poem. A stanza may contain verses of a different length or number of syllables, and a different number of verses; or it may consist of verses of equal length. Stanzas are said to have been first introduced from the Italian into French poetry about the year 1580, and thence they were introduced into England. The versions of the Psalms present examples of various kinds of stanzas. Horace confines himself to one sort of verse or stanza in every ode. – Dryden.