n.
Pronunciation: ' är-s ə s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural ar · ses \ - ˌ s ē z \
Etymology: Late Latin & Greek; Late Latin, raising of the voice, accented part of foot, from Greek, upbeat, less important part of foot, literally, act of lifting, from aeirein, airein to lift
Date: 14th century
1 a : the lighter or shorter part of a poetic foot especially in quantitative verse b : the accented or longer part of a poetic foot especially in accentual verse
2 : the unaccented part of a musical measure ― compare THESIS