anacrusis

American  

[an-uh-kroo-sis] / ˌæn əˈkru sɪs /

noun

PLURAL

anacruses

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  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• anacrustic adjective
• anacrustically adverb

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

It’s the first major addition to Xbox Game Pass for 2022, after Microsoft revealed earlier this week that Mass Effect Legendary Edition, The Anacrusis, and Spelunky 2 are making their way to Xbox Game Pass soon.

From The Verge

Other titles coming to Game Pass in January include roguelike cave explorer Spelunky 2, the award-winning, time-warping Outer Wilds, and a preview of the four-person co-op shooter The Anacrusis.

From The Verge

The most common form consists of an anacrusis, a trochee, a spondee, and two dactyls; a second, of a catalectic iambic pentameter, the third foot always being a spondee; a third, of two dactyls followed by two trochees.

From Project Gutenberg

In line 2 is an instance of anacrusis.

From Project Gutenberg

Here we have anacrusis in lines 2 and 4.

From Project Gutenberg