/kat'l ek"sis/ , n. , pl. catalexes /kat'lek"seez/ . Pros.
the absence of a syllable at the beginning or end of a line of metrical verse resulting in an incomplete foot, most often occurring in the last foot at the end of a verse; a catalectic line.
[ 1820-30; katálexis ending, final syllable; see CATALECTIC, -SIS ]