[irreg. f. Gr. τέλος, τελε- end + στίχος a row, line of verse, after ACROSTIC.] A short poem (or other composition) in which the final letters of the lines, taken in order, spell a word or words. (Cf. ACROSTIC.)
a. 1637. B. Jonson, Underwoods, lxi. 39. Had I pump’d for … Acrostichs, and telestichs.
1673. S’ too him Bayes, 44. The arrantest dunce that ever made acrostick, telestick, or anagram.
1862. H. B. Wheatley, Anagrams, 46. A very ingenious form of the double acrostic, called the Telestich, has been invented.
1883. H. Kennedy, trans. Ten Brink’s E. Eng. Lit., 36. A predilection for other metrical diversions, especially the acrostic and telestich.
