-io

an action, process, or result

Forms

-io
-ion- — The longer form used before Latin endings.
-ion — The form carried into many English nouns.

Origin

An old Latin noun ending, inherited from earlier Indo-European word formation.

Note

The ending can name both an activity and what that activity produces.

328 / 371

noun

scansion

SKAN-shun/ˈskænʃn/

Analysis of the meter and rhythmic pattern of verse.

Her scansion of the poem reveals a steady iambic rhythm.

Close readable notebook with exactly two words to illustrate poetic rhythm: "the SUN" on first line and "the MOON" on second.

Etymology

scansLatinclimb

+ionLatinan action, process, or result

Scandere meant both climbing and scanning verse, making scansion an action of analyzing meter. The connection is uncertain; one suggestion links climbing with poetry’s rising and falling rhythm.

In context

Krista Stubbs11:00

two excerpts of poetry that you need to identify and mark up so you will complete the scansion of each of the excerpts and you must identify the meter

Meter3 podcast

More examples

For homework, we mark stressed and unstressed syllables in a scansion.
Reading the line aloud helps me check my scansion.
Our scansions differ on where the first stress falls.

Forms

scansion · scansions

scan verb — Analyze verse by marking its meter.

Similar words

scanning: Also means examining things, so its poetic sense needs context.
prosody: Covers verse structure and sound more broadly than metrical analysis.