paeon

[ pee-uhn, -on ]

noun

1. Classical Prosody. a foot of one long and three short syllables in any order.

paeon

/ ˈpiːən /

noun

1. prosody a metrical foot of four syllables, with one long one and three short ones in any order

Derived Forms

• paeˈonic, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of paeon¹

1595–1605; < Latin paeōn < Greek paiōn, Attic variant of paiā́n; paean

Word History and Origins

Origin of paeon¹

C17: via Latin paeon from Greek paiōn; variant of paean

Example Sentences

The main actors all wrote and performed their own versified monologues, which pinball from a rant about an overpriced restaurant to a paeon to lesbian love, set on a public bus, to a couples-therapy session to a take-this-job-and-shove-it set piece by a disgruntled employee of a late-night burger joint.

From Washington Post

“Little in Love” is an upbeat paeon to being with someone to share your life with, while “The Good Life” is an uptempo examination of what is truly important.

From Washington Times

And then the movie – like all the great John Hughes movies, a paeon to the ambiguities of youth; the pleasures, the agonisies, the clothes, oh sweet Jesus the clothes.

From The Guardian

Soon those daffodils will raise their golden trumpets and will sound the fanfare at the opening of the Great Jubilee, and up will spring two hundred thousand wide-eyed yellow pansies to look and wonder at the marvelous beauty, and help in the hallelujah chorus that will be one great paeon of joy, one splendid hymn of praise.

From Project Gutenberg

Instead it is a heart-wringing paeon to homesickness.

From The Guardian