FOOT, in the Latin and Greek poetry, a metre or measure, composed of a certain number of long and short syllables.
These feet are commonly reckoned 28: of which some are simple, as consisting of two or three syllables, and therefore called disyllabic or trisyllabic feet; others are compound, consisting of four syllables, and are therefore called tetrasyllabic feet.
The disyllabic feet are four in number, viz. the pyrrhichius, spondeus, iambus, and trocheus. See PYRRHICHUS, &c.
The trisyllabic feet are eight in number, viz. the dactylus, anapaestus, tribrachys, molossus, amphibrachys, amphimacer, bacchius, and antibacchius. See DACTYL, &c.
The tetrasyllabic are in number 16, viz. the proceleustimaticus, dispondeus, choriambus, antispastus, diambus, dichoreus, ionicus a majore, ionicus a minore, epitritus primus, epitritus secundus, epitritus tertius, epitritus
epitritus quartus, pœon primus, pœon secundus, pœon tertius, and pœon quartus. See PROCELEUSMATICUS, &c.
FOOT is also a long measure consisting of 12 inches. Geometricians divide the foot into 10 digits, and the digit into 10 lines.