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ANAPAEST

 - 3 dictionary results

an⋅a⋅pest

  [an-uh-pest]
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–noun Prosody.
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.
Also, an⋅a⋅paest.

Origin:
1580–90; < L anapaestus < Gk anápaistos struck back, reversed (as compared with a dactyl), equiv. to ana- ana- + pais- (var. s. of paíein to strike) + -tos ptp. suffix

Related forms:
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 Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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an·a·pest also an·a·paest   (ān'ə-pěst')   
n.  

  1. A metrical foot composed of two short syllables followed by one long one, as in the word seventeen.

  2. A line of verse using this meter; for example, "'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house" (Clement Clarke Moore).


[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.]
an'a·pes'tic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

anapest 
1678, "two short syllables followed by a long one," from L. anapestus, from Gk. anapaistos "struck back, rebounding," verbal adj. from anapaiein "to strike back," from ana- "back" + paiein "to strike," so called because it reverses the dactyl.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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