Anapaesticus

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to a metrical foot made of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed one, as used in Latin and Greek verse
2. Describing the rhythmic pattern of verse built from two short or unstressed syllables followed by a long or stressed syllable
3. Of the classical metrical foot consisting of two light syllables and one heavy syllable, found in ancient poetry and its meter

Etymology: "Anapaesticus" is a Latin adjective meaning "anapaestic," used in the context of Greek and Latin verse. It is formed from the Greek "anapaistos," which literally meant "struck back" (from "ana," back, and "paiein," to strike). The name was applied to a metrical foot of two short syllables followed by one long, which was thought of as the reverse of the dactyl, a foot of one long followed by two short. The reversal idea is what gave the foot its name: the rhythm of the dactyl was struck back, so to speak. The Latin form "anapaestus" and its adjective "anapaesticus" passed into scholarly use through Roman grammarians and poets, who wrote in this meter for marching songs and choral pieces. English took the term "anapaestic" for the same metrical sense, and the Latin adjective itself is what learned writers used when describing such verse in Latin texts.