n. 1. A metrical foot composed of two unaccented syllables followed by one accented one, as in the word seventeen. 2. A metrical foot in quantitative verse composed of two short syllables followed by one long one. [Latin anapaestus, from Greek anapaistos : ana-, ana- + paiein, pais-, to strike (so called because an anapest is a reversed dactyl); see pau-2 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] an′a·pestic adj. |
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