arsis

American  

[ahr-sis] / ˈɑr sɪs /

noun

plural

arses

1. Music. the upward stroke in conducting; upbeat.

2. Prosody.

   1. the part of a metrical foot that bears the ictus or stress.

   2. (less commonly) a part of a metrical foot that does not bear the ictus.

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arsis British  

/ ˈɑːsɪs /

noun

1. (in classical prosody) the long syllable or part on which the ictus falls in a metrical foot Compare thesis

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Etymology

Origin of arsis

1350–1400; Middle English: raising the voice < Latin < Greek, equivalent to ar- (stem of aírein to raise, lift) + -sis -sis

Example Sentences

Ascend′able, Ascend′ible.—Ascending rhythm, in prosody, a rhythm in which the arsis follows the thesis, as an iambic or anap�stic rhythm: opposed to descending rhythms, as the trochaic and dactylic.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Isorrhythmic, ī-sō-rith′mik, adj. in ancient prosody, equal in the number of times for thesis and arsis, as a dactyl and anap�st.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

They exhibited a more or less regular alternation of arsis and thesis.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Alden, Raymond MacDonald

“And yēt,” is a complete iambus; but anyet is, like spirit, a dibrach u u, trocheized, however, by the arsis or first accent damping, though not extinguishing, the second.

From Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher by Coleridge, Samuel Taylor

"If the arsis is monosyllabic, a short vowel in the thesis followed by a single consonant is not lengthened by the ictus; the arsis is instead prolonged."

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Alden, Raymond MacDonald