anacrusis

American  

[an-uh-kroo-sis] / ˌæn əˈkru sɪs /

noun

• anacruses
  plural

1. Prosody. an unstressed syllable or syllable group that begins a line of verse but is not counted as part of the first foot.

2. Music. the note or notes preceding a downbeat; upbeat.

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anacrusis British  

/ ˌænəˈkruːsɪs /

noun

1. prosody one or more unstressed syllables at the beginning of a line of verse

2. music

   1. an unstressed note or group of notes immediately preceding the strong first beat of the first bar

   2. another word for upbeat

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anacrustic
  adjective
• anacrustically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• anacruses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of anacrusis

1825–35; < Latin < Greek anákrousis, equivalent to anakroú(ein ) to strike up, push back ( ana- ana- + kroúein to strike, push) + -sis -sis

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anacrusis

This may be trochaic with anacrusis or iambic with feminine endings, but neither quite adequately describes it.

From The Principles of English Versification by Paull Franklin Baum

The first perpendicular marks the limit of the anacrusis.

From Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book with Inflections, Syntax, Selections for Reading, and Glossary by C. Alphonso (Charles Alphonso) Smith

If the first two syllables be regarded as anacrusis, the first line would be trochaic, with a dactyl substituted for a trochee in the second foot.

From The Principles of English Versification by Paull Franklin Baum

Similar combinations, still freer, with frequent anacrusis as well, are characteristic of Swinburne's Hesperia; e. g.—

From The Principles of English Versification by Paull Franklin Baum

In line 2 is an instance of anacrusis.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden