anapest

an·a·pest

A a

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [an-uh-pest]
- /ˈæn əˌpɛst/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [an-uh-pest]
- /ˈæn əˌpɛst/

Definitions of anapest word

noun anapest a metrical foot consisting, in Greek and Latin verse, of two short syllables followed by a long one, or, as in English, of two unaccented syllables followed by an accented one 3
noun anapest a line of verse made up of such feet (Ex.: “Ănd thĕ shéen | ŏf thĕir spéars | wăs lĭke stárs | ŏn thĕ séa”) 3
noun anapest 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. 1
noun anapest A metrical foot consisting of two short or unstressed syllables followed by one long or stressed syllable. 1
noun anapest (prosody) In qualitative metre, a metrical foot consisting of three syllables, two unstressed and one stressed (e.g., the word "interrupt"). 0
noun anapest (prosody) In quantitative metre, a metrical foot consisting of three syllables, two short and one long (e.g., the word "velveteen"). 0

See all 7 definitions of anapest

Information block about the term

Origin of anapest

First appearance:

before 1580

One of the 35% oldest English words

1580-90; < Latin anapaestus < Greek anápaistos struck back, reversed (as compared with a dactyl), equivalent to ana- ana- + pais- (variant stem of paíein to strike) + -tos past participle suffix

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Anapest

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Anapest

anapest popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 69% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 50% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

anapest usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer