mora

noun6

1. •
   A unit used to measure lines and stanzas of poetry.

   • In the quantitative meters in Sanskrit a heavy syllable is considered to be equal to two morae and a light syllable equivalent to one mora. — 1918
2. •
   A unit of syllable weight used in phonology, by which stress, foot structure, or timing of utterance is determined in some languages (e.g., Japanese).

   • Instead of syllables, Japanese is supported by mora. (Tokyo is To-o-kyo-o, a four-mora word.) The word Nihongo consists of four morae, ni-ho-n-go, pronounced with four rhythmical units of sound. — 2011
3. •
   Any tree of the genus Mora of large South American trees.

   • At length, somewhere about the centre of the wood, she led me to an immense mora tree, growing almost isolated, covering with its shade a large space of ground entirely free from undergrowth. — 1904
4. •
   The common mora (Mora moro).
5. •
   (historical) An ancient Spartan military unit of about a sixth of the Spartan army, typically composed of hoplites.
6. •
   A delay in bringing a claim.