a unit of sound in poetry consisting of two weak or short syllables followed by one strong or long syllable 抑抑扬格（诗歌中由两轻一重或两短一长音节组成的音步） Word Originlate 16th cent.: via Latin from Greek anapaistos ‘reversed’, from ana- ‘back’ + paiein ‘strike’ (because it is the reverse of a dactyl, a type of metrical foot with one stressed or long syllable, followed by two unstressed or short syllables).