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spondee - 6 dictionary results

spon⋅dee

  [spon-dee]
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–noun Prosody.
a foot of two syllables, both of which are long in quantitative meter or stressed in accentual meter. Symbol:
Origin:
1350–1400; ME sponde < L spondēus < Gk spondeîos, deriv. of spond libation
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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spon·dee   (spŏn'dē')   
n.  A metrical foot consisting of two long or stressed syllables.

[Middle English sponde, from Old French spondee, from Latin spondēum, from neuter of spondēus, of libations, spondaic, from Greek spondeios, from spondē, libation (from its use in songs performed at libations); see spend- in Indo-European roots.]
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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Spondee

Spon"dee\, n. [L. spondeus, Gr. ? (sc. ?), fr. ? a drink offering, libation, fr. ? to pour out, make a libation: cf. F. spond['e]e. So called because at libations slow, solemn melodies were used, chiefly in this meter.] (pros.) A poetic foot of two long syllables, as in the Latin word l[=e]g[=e]s.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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spondee 
c.1390, "metrical foot consisting of two long syllables," from O.Fr. spondee, from L. spondeus, from Gk. spondeios (pous), the name of the meter originally used in chants accompanying libations, from sponde "solemn libation," related to spendein "make a drink offering," from PIE base *spend- "to make an offering, perform a rite," hence "to engage oneself by a ritual act" (cf. L. spondere "to engage oneself, promise," Hittite shipantahhi "I pour out a libation, I sacrifice").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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spondee spon·dee (spŏn'dē')
n.
A word or metrical foot having two equally stressed syllables, used in testing speech and hearing.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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spondee

metrical foot consisting of two long (as in classical verse) or stressed (as in English verse) syllables occurring together. The term was derived from a Greek word describing the two long musical notes that accompanied the pouring of a libation. Spondaic metre occurred occasionally in classical verse. It does not, however, form the basis for any English verse, as there are virtually no English words in which syllables receive equal stress. An approximation of a spondaic foot is sometimes achieved with such compounds as "heyday" or "childhood," but even these words can be seen as examples of primary and secondary stress rather than equal stress. In English verse, the spondaic foot is usually composed of two monosyllables. It is frequently used as an introductory variation in a line of iambic metre, such as:

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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