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bacchius

[buh-kahy-uh s, ba-]
noun, plural bac·chi·i [buh-kahy-ahy ba-] /bəˈkaɪ aɪ bæ-/. Prosody.
  1. a foot of three syllables that in quantitative meter consists of one short syllable followed by two long ones, and that in accentual meter consists of one unstressed syllable followed by two stressed ones.
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Compare antibacchius.

Origin of bacchius

1580–90; < Latin < Greek Bakkheîos (poús) (foot) of Bacchus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bacchius

Historical Examples

  • He scans it as a 'bacchius', consisting of four feet, with the measurement , the last syllable of saeclo seeming to be shortened.

    Cato Maior de Senectute

    Marcus Tullius Cicero

British Dictionary definitions for bacchius

bacchius

noun plural -chii (-ˈkaɪaɪ)
  1. prosody a metrical foot of one short syllable followed by two long ones (◡ – –)Compare dactyl
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Word Origin

C16: from Latin, from Greek Bakkheios (pous) a Bacchic (foot)
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