/poh et"iks/ , n. ( used with a sing. v. )
1. literary criticism treating of the nature and laws of poetry.
2. the study of prosody.
3. a treatise on poetry.
4. ( cap., italics ) a treatise or collection of notes on aesthetics (4th century B.C.) by Aristotle.
[ 1720-30; see POETIC, -ICS ]