Tribrach (poetry)
| Disyllables | |
|---|---|
| ◡ ◡ | pyrrhic, dibrach |
| ◡ – | iamb |
| – ◡ | trochee, choree |
| – – | spondee |
| Trisyllables | |
| ◡ ◡ ◡ | tribrach |
| – ◡ ◡ | dactyl |
| ◡ – ◡ | amphibrach |
| ◡ ◡ – | anapaest, antidactylus |
| ◡ – – | bacchius |
| – ◡ – | cretic, amphimacer |
| – – ◡ | antibacchius |
| – – – | molossus |
| See main article for tetrasyllables. | |
A tribrach is a metrical foot used in formal poetry and Greek and Latin verse. In quantitative meter (such as the meter of classical verse), it consists of three short syllables occupying a foot, replacing either an iamb (u –) or a trochee (– u). In accentual-syllabic verse (such as formal English verse), the tribrach consists of a run of three short syllables substituted for a trochee.
A "tribrach word" is a word consisting of three short syllables, such as Latin nitida "shining" or Greek ἔχετε "you have". An English equivalent would be a word with three short syllables such as Canada or passenger.
The origin of the word tribrach is the Greek τρίβραχυς, derived from the prefix τρι- "three" and the adjective βραχύς "short".