Definition of anacrusis
1
: one or more syllables at the beginning of a line of poetry that are regarded as preliminary to and not a part of the metrical pattern
2
: upbeat
specifically
: one or more notes or tones preceding the first downbeat of a musical phrase
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for anacrusis
The first known use of anacrusis was in 1763
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