Spondee

//ˈspɒndi// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A word or metrical foot of two syllables, either both long or both stressed.
  2. 2
    a metrical unit with stressed-stressed syllables wordnet

Etymology

From Latin spondēus (“spondee”), from Ancient Greek σπονδεῖος (spondeîos, “associated with a libation”) from σπονδή (spondḗ, “libation”): spondees were often used in melodies sung at libations.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.