anapest

or an·a·paest

[an-uh-pest]

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

Related formsan·a·pes·tic, an·a·paes·tic, adjectivean·a·pes·ti·cal·ly, an·a·paes·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for anapaest

Historical Examples of 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 Lovecraft
Again, 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

noun

prosody a metrical foot of three syllables, the first two short, the last long (◡ ◡ –)

Derived Formsanapaestic or anapestic, adjective

Word Origin for anapaest

C17: via Latin from Greek anapaistos reversed (that is, a dactyl reversed), from anapaiein, from ana- back + paiein to strike

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

Word Origin and History for anapaest

anapest

also anapaest, "two short syllables followed by a long one," 1670s, from Latin anapestus, from Greek anapaistos "struck back, rebounding," verbal adjective from anapaiein "to strike back," from ana- "back" (see ana-) + paiein "to strike," from PIE *pau- "to cut, strike, stamp" (see pave). So called because it reverses the dactyl.