anacrusis

[ an-uh-kroo-sis ]

noun

, plural an·a·cru·ses [an-, uh, -, kroo, -seez].

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.

anacrusis

/ ˌænəˈkrʌstɪk; 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

Derived Forms

• anacrustic, adjective

Other Words From

• an·a·crus·tic [an-, uh, -, kruhs, -tik], adjective
• ana·crusti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of anacrusis¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of anacrusis¹

C19: from Greek anakrousis prelude, from anakrouein to strike up, from ana- + krouein to strike

Example Sentences

Whether the half-line be first or second, it is usually of the A type without anacrusis.

From Project Gutenberg

Lines with anacrusis in the first section and without it in the second.

From Project Gutenberg

Anacrusis gives further variety to the types used in the translation.

From Project Gutenberg

There are many instances of anacruses where the last bar has not been shortened by the length of the anacrusis bar.

From Project Gutenberg

These forms are also varied by monosyllabic anacrusis combined with monosyllabic thesis, e ow of wrge El.

From Project Gutenberg