anapest
or an·a·paest
[ an-uh-pest ]
/ ˈæn əˌpɛst /
noun Prosody.
a foot of three syllables, two short followed by one long in quantitative meter, and two unstressed followed by one stressed in accentual meter, as in for the nonce.
Origin of anapest
1580–90; < Latin
anapaestus < Greek
anápaistos struck back, reversed (as compared with a dactyl), equivalent to
ana-
ana- +
pais- (variant stem of
paíein to strike) +
-tos past participle suffix
OTHER WORDS FROM anapest
an·a·pes·tic, an·a·paes·tic, adjective an·a·pes·ti·cal·ly, an·a·paes·ti·cal·ly, adverbWords nearby anapest
ananias,
anankastic personality,
ananke,
ananthous,
anapaest,
anapest,
anaphase,
anaphia,
anaphora,
anaphoresis,
anaphoria
Example sentences from the Web for anapaest
"Home," by Margaret Mahon, is a poem in that rather popular modern measure which seems to waver betwixt the iambus and anapaest.
Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922 |Howard Phillips LovecraftAgain, I should say, anapaestic—but this anapaest and amphibrach quarrel is ἄσπονδος.
The Complete Poetical Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge |Samuel Taylor Coleridge
British Dictionary definitions for anapaest
anapaest
anapest
/ (ˈænəpɛst, -piːst) /
noun
prosody
a metrical foot of three syllables, the first two short, the last long (◡ ◡ –)
Derived forms of anapaest
anapaestic or anapestic, adjectiveWord Origin for anapaest
C17: via Latin from Greek
anapaistos reversed (that is, a dactyl reversed), from
anapaiein, from
ana- back +
paiein to strike