anapest
or an·a·paest
[ an-uh-pest ]
See synonyms for: anapestic on Thesaurus.com
nounProsody.
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
11580–90; <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
Other words from anapest
- an·a·pes·tic, an·a·paes·tic, adjective
- an·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. 2023
How to use anapest in a sentence
Virgilius Mars wrote in hexameters; Horatius Flaccus in alcaic, sapphic, and anapestic verse.
The Green Book | Mr JkaiIn like manner we have anapestic lines of all lengths from monometer to hexameter.
Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism | F. V. N. PainterAnapestic verse consists of a regular recurrence of two unstressed syllables preceding a stressed syllable, — — /.
Legends, Tales and Poems | Gustavo Adolfo BecquerThere is evident a tendency toward the rising verse and the anapestic foot.
The Translations of Beowulf | Chauncey Brewster TinkerHere we have a hexameter which is neither iambic nor anapestic, but a combination of the two rhythms.
English Verse | Raymond MacDonald Alden, Ph.D.
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