C17: from obsolete French sestinesestina, but also influenced by obsolete sixain stanza of six lines
sestina in British English
(sɛˈstiːnə)
noun
an elaborate verse form of Italian origin, normally unrhymed, consisting of six stanzas of six lines each and a concluding tercet. The six final words of the lines in the first stanza are repeated in a different order in each of the remaining five stanzas and also in the concluding tercet
Also called: sestine, sextain
Word origin
C19: from Italian, from sesto sixth, from Latin sextus
sextain in American English
(ˈsekstein)
noun Prosody
1.
a stanza of six lines
2.
a poem of six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoy, originally without rhyme, in which each stanza repeats the end words of the lines of the first stanza, but in different order, the envoy using thesix words again, three in the middle of the lines and three at the end; sestina
Word origin
[1630–40; b. two obs. F words: sixain six-line stanza and sestinesestina]This word is first recorded in the period 1630–40. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: atmosphere, brigade, cachet, concentrate, riffle