Words & WritingGreek → English
Amphibrach
/ˈæmfɪbræk/noun
A metrical foot of one stressed syllable between two unstressed ones.
The Greek roots
ἀμφί
amphí
on both sides
βραχύς
brachýs
short
Literally: “short at both ends”
The story of the word
The Greek name describes syllable length, not stress: a long syllable with a short on either side. English hears the pattern as stress instead, and any word like romantic or unhappy is one. Whole poems in amphibrachs are rare in English, but the foot drives the swing of the limerick and of a good deal of nursery verse.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
Same family
amphitheatreamphibianbrachycephalic
In a sentence
Say the line aloud and you can hear the amphibrach rocking under it.