verse

Etymology 1

From Middle English vers, from a mixture of Old English fers and Old French vers; both from Latin versus (“a line in writing, and in poetry a verse; (originally) row, furrow”), from vertō (“to turn around”).

noun

1. A poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme.
   Restoration literature is well known for its carefully constructed verse.
2. Poetic form in general.
   The restrictions of verse have been steadily relaxed over time.
3. One of several similar units of a song, consisting of several lines, generally rhymed.
   Note the shift in tone between the first verse and the second.
4. A small section of a holy book (Bible, Quran etc.)
   Holonym: chapter
5. (music) A portion of an anthem to be performed by a single voice to each part.

verb

1. (obsolete) To compose verses.
2. (transitive) To tell in verse, or poetry.
3. (transitive, figurative) to educate about, to teach about.
   He versed us in the finer points of category theory.

Etymology 2

Back-formation from versus, misconstrued as a third-person singular verb verses.

verb

1. (colloquial, sometimes proscribed) To oppose, to compete against, especially in a video game.
   Verse him, G!
   When teams play now they "verse" each other. "Who did you verse?" (Forget "whom". It's long dead.) "We're versing you next." Pity the Latin scholar who might feel the loss of "versus" more keenly than many. 2007 March 26, Nick Green, “Being illiterate and innumerate shouldn’t shame anyone”, in Sydney Morning Herald
   If you've got Onslaught let me know and I'll verse you. August 11, 2009, CrazyGunner [username], “Verse me on Onslaught”, in Nintendo Life
   Ariel is worried for the race, because she is versing her best competitor, and she really wants to win. April 9, 2020, AgentPigeon122 [username], “The Graphic Organizer Information”, in Course Hero