Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PAE'AN, or PE'AN, n. [or PÆ'AN.]

1. Among the ancients, a song of rejoicing in honor of Apollo; hence, a song of triumph. – Pope.
2. In ancient poetry, a foot of four syllables; written also pæon. Of this there are four kinds; the first consisting of one long and three short syllables, or a trochee and a pyrhic, as tēmpŏrĭbŭs; the second of a short syllable, a long and two short, or an iambus and a pyrrhic, as pŏtēntĭă; the third of two short syllables, a long and a short one, or a pyrrhic and a trochee, as ănĭmātŭs; the fourth of three short syllables and a long one, or a pyrrhic and iambus, as cĕlĕrĭtās. – Encyc.