Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HY-PER'ME-TER, n. [Gr. υπερ, beyond, and μετρον, measure.]

Any thing greater than the ordinary standard of measure. Addison. A verse is called a hypermeter, when it contains a syllable more than the ordinary measure. When this is the case, the following line begins with a vowel, and the redundant syllable of the former line blends with the first of the following, and they are read as one syllable.