PÆAN, in the ancient poetry, a foot consisting of four syllables; of which there are four kinds, the pæan primus, secundus, &c.
The pæan primus consists of one long syllable and three short ones, or a trocheus and pyrrhichius, as temporant; the pæan secundus consists of a short syllable, a long, and two short, or an iambus and a pyrrhichius, as potentia; the pæan tertius consists of two short syllables, a long and a short one, or a pyrrhichius and a trocheus, as animatur; the pæan quartus consists of three short syllables and a long one, or a pyrrhichius and iambus, as celeritas.