spondee

1 of 3

noun (1)

spon·​dee ˈspän-ˌdē 

: a metrical foot consisting of two long or stressed syllables

spondaic

spän-ˈdā-ik 

adjective or noun

spondaic

2 of 3

adjective

spon·​da·​ic (ˈ)spän¦dāik 

-āēk

variants or less commonly spondaical

-āə̇kəl, 

-āēkəl

: of, relating to, or constituting a spondee : consisting of spondees : characterized by spondees

spondaic

3 of 3

noun (2)

"

plural -s

: spondee

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English sponde, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French spondee, from Latin spondeum, from Greek spondeios, from spondeios of a libation, from spondē libation, from spendein to make a libation; from its use in music accompanying libations — more at spouse

Adjective

spondaic from French or Late Latin; French spo2daïque from Late Latin spondaicus, alteration of spondiacus, from Greek spondeiakos, from spondeios spondee; spondaical from Late Latin spondaicus + English -al

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for spondee

• be
• bee
• bree
• cree
• fee
• flea
• flee
• free
• gee
• ghee
• glee
• he

Kids Definition

spondee

noun

spon·​dee ˈspän-ˌdē 

: a metrical foot consisting of two accented syllables (as in tom-tom)

spondaic

spän-ˈdā-ik 

adjective