The hendecasyllable () is the principal metre in Italian poetry. Its defining feature is a constant stress on the tenth syllable, so that the number of syllables in the verse may vary, equaling eleven in the usual case where the final word is stressed on the penultimate syllable. The verse also has a stress preceding the caesura, on either the fourth or sixth syllable. The first case is called "endecasillabo a minore", or lesser hendecasyllable, and has the first hemistich equivalent to a "quinario"; the second is called "endecasillabo a maiore", or greater hendecasyllable, and has a "settenario" as the first hemistich.