anapaest

British

/ ˈænəpɛst, -piːst /

noun

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

"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

Other Word Forms

anapaestic adjective

Etymology

Origin of anapaest

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He tends to favor the anapaest and the iambic tetrameter.

From Project Gutenberg

"I wish you would turn one of my father's favorite songs into anapaests for him," said Hardy.

From Project Gutenberg

Hieronymus, a Peripatetic of the highest character, out of all the numerous compositions of Isocrates, picked out about thirty verses, chiefly iambics, but some also anapaests.

From Project Gutenberg

When I am arrested, I shall protest in anapaests.

From Project Gutenberg

But they are dull; monotonous lamentation in monotonous anapaests is the height of their capacity.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023