Anapest Definition

anəpest
noun
A metrical foot composed of two unaccented syllables followed by one accented one, as in the word seventeen.
American Heritage
A metrical foot consisting, in Greek and Latin verse, of two short syllables followed by a long one, or, as in English, of two unaccented syllables followed by an accented one.
Webster's New World
A metrical foot in quantitative verse composed of two short syllables followed by one long one.
American Heritage
A line of verse made up of such feet (Ex.: “Ănd thĕ shéen | ŏf thĕir spéars | wăs lĭke stárs | ŏn thĕ séa”)
Webster's New World

(prosody) A metrical foot consisting of three syllables, two short and one long (e.g the word "velveteen").

Wiktionary
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Anapest

Noun

Singular:
anapest
Plural:
anapests

Origin of Anapest

  • Latin anapaestus from Greek anapaistos ana- ana- paiein pais- to strike (so called because an anapest is a reversed dactyl) pau-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Latin anapaestus, from Ancient Greek ἀνάπαιστος (anapaistos, “struck back”, “reversed”), from ἀνά (ana, “back”) + παίω (paiō, “I strike”).

    From Wiktionary

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