arsis

A1R1S1I1S1
/ˈɑː(ɹ)sɪs/

noun

The stronger part of a musical measure: the part containing the beat.

OriginAncient Greek ἄρσις →
RareScrabble 5
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

arsis1

nounarsis (countable and uncountable, plural arses)

plural arses

  1. countableuncountableentertainmentThe stronger part of a musical measure: the part containing the beat.
  2. countableuncountablecommunicationsThe stronger part of a metrical foot: the part containing the long (heavy) syllable in quantitative meter, or the stressed syllable in a qualitative meter.

    it comes to pass that the arsis may effect some change in the order of which it is itself the commencement

    1830, Johann Gottfried Jacob Hermann, Hermann's Elements of the Doctrine of Metres
  3. countableuncountableentertainmentThe elevation of the hand, or that part of the bar at which it is raised, in beating time; the weak or unaccented part of the bar, opposed to the thesis.
  4. countableuncountableThe elevation of the voice to a higher pitch in speaking.

Arsis2

nounArsis (plural arses)

plural arses

  1. Raising of the voice in prosody, accented part of a metrical foot

Origin

arsis · noun

  1. Ancient Greekἄρσις“lifting”
  2. Englisharsis

From Ancient Greek ἄρσις (ársis, “lifting”), from αἴρω (aírō, “to lift”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Arsis · noun

  1. Ancient Greekἄρσις“elevation”
  2. LatinArsis
  3. EnglishArsis

From Latin Arsis, from Ancient Greek ἄρσις (ársis, “elevation”).

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French arsis
  • arsisthe stronger part of a measure or foot
Italian arsi
  • arsithe stronger part of a measure or foot
Portuguese arse, ársis
  • arsethe stronger part of a measure or foot
  • ársisthe stronger part of a measure or foot

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

SirsaRassi
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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