a verse form of eight lines and two rhymes, the first line being repeated as the fourth and seventh, and the second as the eighth; the rhyme scheme is abaaabab
Origin:
Fr, ? fig. use of triolet, clover, prob. dim. of OFr *triol, *triueil < L trifolium, trefoil
See triolet in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
A poem or stanza of eight lines with a rhyme scheme abaaabab, in which the fourth and seventh lines are the same as the first, and the eighth line is the same as the second.