paeon

American  

[pee-uhn, -on] / ˈpi ən, -ɒn /

noun

1. Classical Prosody. a foot of one long and three short syllables in any order.

---

paeon British  

/ ˈpiːən /

noun

1. prosody a metrical foot of four syllables, with one long one and three short ones in any order

---

Other Word Forms

• paeonic
  adjective

---

Etymology

Origin of paeon

1595–1605; < Latin paeōn < Greek paiōn, Attic variant of paiā́n; see paean

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paeon

And then the movie – like all the great John Hughes movies, a paeon to the ambiguities of youth; the pleasures, the agonisies, the clothes, oh sweet Jesus the clothes.

From The Guardian ● May 29, 2014

Instead it is a heart-wringing paeon to homesickness.

From The Guardian ● May 30, 2010

The iambic, then, should be the leading number in those subjects which require a plain and simple style;—the paeon in such as require more compass and elevation; and the dactyl is equally applicable to both.

From Cicero's Brutus or History of Famous Orators; also His Orator, or Accomplished Speaker. by E. Jones

For this reason he recommends the paeon, and says that every person makes use of it, even without being sensible when he does so.

From Cicero's Brutus or History of Famous Orators; also His Orator, or Accomplished Speaker. by E. Jones

This introduces a new question, whether English verse admits of a foot resembling the Greek paeon, _̷◡◡◡.

From The Principles of English Versification by Paull Franklin Baum

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---