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Webster 1913 Edition
Anapest
An′a-pest
,Noun.
[L.
anapaestus
, Gr. [GREEK] an anapest, i.e., a dactyl reserved, or, as it were, struck back
; fr. [GREEK]; ἀνά
back + [GREEK] to strike.] 1.
(Pros.)
A metrical foot consisting of three syllables, the first two short, or unaccented, the last long, or accented (˘ ˘ -); the reverse of the dactyl. In Latin dĕ-ĭ-tās, and in English in-ter-vene˝, are examples of anapests.
2.
A verse composed of such feet.
Webster 1828 Edition
Anapest
AN'APEST
,Noun.
In poetry, a foot, consisting of three syllables, the two first short, the last long; the reverse of the dactyl; as,
Can a bosom so gentle remain
Unmoved when her Corydon sighs?