(Chiefly in Old English verse) a half of a line of verse.The column is divided into hemistichs justified at the outer edges....
Bénabou joins the first hemistich of each line to the second of another: the first alexandrine thus selected is the opening line of Rimbaud's ‘Bateau ivre’.
The point of his entire speech seems to be summed up in the first hemistich of line 279.
Origin
Late 16th century: via late Latin from Greek hēmistikhion, from hēmi- 'half' + stikhos 'row, line of verse'.