SONNETING
Verb
sonneting
present participle of sonnet
Source: Wiktionary
SONNET
Son"net, n. Etym: [F., fr. It. sonetto, fr. suono a sound, a song,
fr. L. sonus a sound. See Sound noise.]
1. A short poem, -- usually amatory. [Obs.] Shak.
He had a wonderful desire to chant a sonnet or hymn unto Apollo
Pythius. Holland.
2. A poem of fourteen lines, -- two stanzas, called the octave, being
of four verses each, and two stanzas, called the sestet, of three
verses each, the rhymes being adjusted by a particular rule.
Note: In the proper sonnet each line has five accents, and the octave
has but two rhymes, the second, third, sixth, and seventh lines being
of one thyme, and the first, fourth, fifth, and eighth being of
another. In the sestet there are sometimes two and sometimes three
rhymes; but in some way its two stazas rhyme together. Often the
three lines of the first stanza rhyme severally with the three lines
of the second. In Shakespeare's sonnets, the first twelve lines
rhymed alternately, and the last two rhyme together.
Son"net, v. i.
Definition: To compose sonnets. "Strains that come almost to sonneting."
Milton.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition