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DictionaryRoot: scandere
Latin

scandere

climb

Forms

  • scandere
  • scans- — The changed form used for completed action.
  • -scend- — The vowel changed in Latin compounds.

Origin

From an older Indo-European root associated with climbing or springing.

Note

Climbing can suggest movement through ranks or levels as well as up a surface.

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

scansion

SKAN-shun/ˈskænʃn/

Analysis of the meter and rhythmic pattern of verse.

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.

Full entry

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