ANAPEST

[an.a.pest] n [L anapaestus, fr. Gk anapaistos, lit., struck back (a dactyl reversed), fr. ana- + -paistos, verbal of paiein to strike] (ca. 1678): a metrical foot consisting of two short syllables followed by one long syllable or of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable (as unabridged) -- an.a.pes.tic adj or n