Meaning of syllaba anceps | Babel Free

Definitions

A syllable of unfixed or undecided weight.

Examples

“Syllabae ancipites at the ends of lines are […]”

“The name of L constitutes one syllable, but its position at the end of the (dactylic-hexameter) line makes it a syllaba anceps, either long or short, and any one of three interpretations seems possible: el (with the preceding word, geminat, having a long final syllable, the A retaining its original length, as we find in even later poets), or le (with Strzelecki, the E being long or short), or ll (with Marx), i.e., sonant/syllabic l (as others put it).”

CEFR level