What does anapaest mean?
An anapaest is a metrical foot used in poetry, composed of two short or unstressed syllables followed by one long or stressed syllable — a pattern that produces a light, running, galloping rhythm. It is essentially the reverse of the dactyl, which places the stress first, and the Greeks accordingly described it as a foot 'struck backwards'. Lines built largely from anapaests are said to be written in anapaestic metre, a form beloved of poets who want buoyancy and forward drive: Byron's 'The Destruction of Sennacherib' is a famous example, as is much of Dr Seuss's verse. The term belongs chiefly to the vocabulary of prosody, literary criticism, and creative writing rather than everyday speech. In American English the word is usually spelled 'anapest', while British English retains the fuller 'anapaest'; both refer to exactly the same rhythmic unit.
nounA metrical foot in poetry consisting of two short or unstressed syllables followed by one long or stressed syllable, as in the phrase 'not a word'. It is the rhythmic opposite of a dactyl.
- A metrical foot consisting of two short or unstressed syllables followed by one long or stressed syllable.
- A line or passage of verse written predominantly in such feet.
"Byron's 'The Destruction of Sennacherib' gallops along in rolling anapaests."
"The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold."
"Light verse often favours the anapaest for its bouncy, galloping momentum."
Regular plural; commonly used when discussing the metre of a poem, e.g. 'written in anapaests'.
"Much of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic verse trips along in brisk anapaests."
The ancient Greeks called it a foot 'struck backwards' because it literally runs the dactyl in reverse.
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Etymology of anapaest
The word derives from the Greek 'anapaistos', meaning 'struck back' or 'reversed', formed from 'ana-' ('back') plus 'paiein' ('to strike'), because the foot was understood as a dactyl run in reverse. It passed into Latin and then into English in the early 17th century, when classical metres were being intensively studied by English scholars and poets. Its sibling terms — dactyl, iamb, trochee, and spondee — come from the same Greek tradition of describing poetic feet.
Related word forms
How anapaest is actually used
Primarily a technical term of prosody and literary criticism; rarely used outside discussions of poetry and metrics. The spelling 'anapest' is standard in American English, while 'anapaest' is preferred in British English.
Easily confused with anapaest
A dactyl is a metrical foot of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones, whereas an anapaest reverses this order with two unstressed syllables before the stress.
An amphibrach places its single stressed syllable between two unstressed ones, while an anapaest puts the stress at the end.