anacrusis

A1N1A1C3R1U1S1I1S1
UK/anəˈkɹuːsɪs/

noun

An unstressed syllable at the start of a verse.

OriginAncient Greek ἀνάκρουσις →
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Meanings

nounanacrusis (plural anacruses)

plural anacruses

  1. human sciencesAn unstressed syllable at the start of a verse.
  2. entertainmentAn unstressed note or notes before the first strong beat (or downbeat) of a phrase.

    Then Etheridge poised his baton, jerked an upbeat, and made the violinists speak the low G and A of their anacrusis.

    1989, Anthony Burgess, Any Old Iron

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
upbeat

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἀνάκρουσις“pushing up”
  2. Englishanacrusis

Via New Latin from Ancient Greek ἀνάκρουσις (anákrousis, “pushing up”), from ἀνακρούω (anakroúō, “I push up”), from ἀνά (aná, “up”) + κρούω (kroúō, “I strike”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan anacrusi, anacrusi
  • anacrusi(prosody) an unstressed syllable at the start of a verse
  • anacrusi(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
Chinese Mandarin 弱起
  • 弱起 (ruòqǐ)(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
Dutch opmaat
  • opmaat(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
Finnish esitahti, anakruusi
  • esitahti(prosody) an unstressed syllable at the start of a verse
  • anakruusi(prosody) an unstressed syllable at the start of a verse
  • kohotahti(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
  • nousutahti(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
French anacrouse, anacrouse
  • anacrouse(prosody) an unstressed syllable at the start of a verse
  • anacrouse(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
German Auftakt, Auftakt
  • Auftakt(prosody) an unstressed syllable at the start of a verse
  • Auftakt(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
  • Anakrusis(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
Italian anacrusi, anacrusi
  • anacrusi(prosody) an unstressed syllable at the start of a verse
  • anacrusi(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
Polish anakruza, przedtakt
  • anakruza(prosody) an unstressed syllable at the start of a verse
  • przedtakt(prosody) an unstressed syllable at the start of a verse
  • anakruza(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
  • przedtakt(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
Portuguese anacruse, anacruse
  • anacruse(prosody) an unstressed syllable at the start of a verse
  • anacruse(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
Russian анакру́за, зата́кт
  • анакру́за (anakrúza)(prosody) an unstressed syllable at the start of a verse
  • зата́кт (zatákt)(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
Spanish anacrusa
  • anacrusa(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
Swedish upptakt
  • upptakt(music) an unstressed note (or notes) before the first strong beat of a phrase
Cite this entry
APA

anacrusis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anacrusis

MLA

“anacrusis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anacrusis. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “anacrusis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anacrusis.

Source: anacrusis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.