anapest

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“
Since both the iambus and the anapest are accented on the last syllable, they may be interchanged.

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Definitions (4)

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  1. noun A metrical foot composed of two short syllables followed by one long one, as in the word seventeen.
  2. noun A line of verse using this meter; for example, "'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house” (Clement Clarke Moore).

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Examples (45)

  • From Ashbery to Wordsworth, haiku to epic, anapest to terza rima
  • "Anapest" comes from a Greek verb which means "strike back"; an anapest is a reversed dactyl. —  Practical English Composition: Book II. For the Second Year of the High School
  • The scheme of the verse is as follows uu|-'uu|-'uu|-'uu|-'uu|-'u This foot, consisting of one accented syllable, followed by two unaccented syllables, is called a dactyl Once more, in the line Through the depths of Loch Katrine the steed shall career the third syllable is accented, and the scheme of the verse may be thus indicated uu-'|uu-'|uu-'|uu This foot, which is the opposite of the dactyl, is known as the anapest A spondee is a foot of two equally accented syllables; as, mainspring_, sea-maid_. —  Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism
  • At "anapest" it was a noticeable frown, at "apothem" it became very pronounced, and at "dieresis" his shaggy red brows nearly covered his eyes, he was frowning so hard I wonder what th' Interurban Ixpriss Company w'u'd loike me t' be writin' thim on th' subject av 'ecumenical'?" —  Mike Flannery On Duty and Off
  • Since both the iambus and the anapest are accented on the last syllable, they may be interchanged. —  Composition-Rhetoric
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Etymologies (1)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin anapaestus, from Greek anapaistos : ana-, ana- + paiein, pais-, to strike (so called because an anapest is a reversed dactyl); see pau-2 in Indo-European roots.
 

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/ˈænəpɛst/
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