Dictionary entry

Spondee

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Spon″dee (spŏn″dē), n. [L. spondeus, Gr. � (sc. �), fr. � a drink offering, libation, fr. � to pour out, make a libation: cf. F. spondée. So called because at libations slow, solemn melodies were used, chiefly in this meter.] (Pros.) A poetic foot of two long syllables, as in the Latin word lēgēs.