amphibrach

[ am-fuh-brak ]

/ ˈæm fəˌbræk /

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noun Prosody.

a trisyllabic foot, the arrangement of the syllables of which is short, long, short in quantitative meter, or unstressed, stressed, unstressed in accentual meter. Thus, together is an accentual amphibrach.

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Origin of amphibrach

1580–90; <Latin amphibrachus<Greek amphíbrachys short before and after (amphi-amphi- + brachýs short); cf. amphimacer

OTHER WORDS FROM amphibrach

am·phi·brach·ic, adjective

Words nearby amphibrach

amphibolic, amphibolite, amphibology, amphibolous, amphiboly, amphibrach, amphicarpous, amphicelous, amphichroic, amphicoelous, amphictyon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use amphibrach in a sentence

Similarly, such a word as alighted, in which a strong syllable is situated between two weak ones, may be called an 'amphibrach.'
Chaucer's Works, Volume 6 (of 7) -- Introduction, Glossary, and Indexes|Geoffrey Chaucer
The amphibrach plays a highly important part in English verse, though it is usual not to mention it at all.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 6 (of 7) -- Introduction, Glossary, and Indexes|Geoffrey Chaucer
The Amphibrach is a foot of three syllables, the first and third short, and the second long.
Dissertation on the English Language|Noah Webster, Jr.
But these lines are of the high burlesque kind, and in this stile the Amphibrach closes lines with great beauty.
Dissertation on the English Language|Noah Webster, Jr.

Similarly, the symbol means a trochee; and the symbol means an amphibrach.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 6 (of 7) -- Introduction, Glossary, and Indexes|Geoffrey Chaucer

British Dictionary definitions for amphibrach

amphibrach

/ (ˈæmfɪˌbræk) /

noun

prosody a metrical foot consisting of a long syllable between two short syllables (◡ – ◡)Compare cretic

Derived forms of amphibrach

amphibrachic, adjective

Word Origin for amphibrach

C16: from Latin, from Greek amphibrakhus, literally: both ends being short, from amphi- + brakhus short

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012