\Ep"ode\, n. [L. epodos, Gr. ?, fr. ?, adj., singing to,
sung or said after, fr. ? to sing to; 'epi` upon, to + ? to
sing: cf. F. ['e]pode. See {Ode}.] (Poet.)
(a) The after song; the part of a lyric ode which follows the
    strophe and antistrophe, -- the ancient ode being divided
    into strophe, antistrophe, and epode.
(b) A species of lyric poem, invented by Archilochus, in
    which a longer verse is followed by a shorter one; as,
    the Epodes of Horace. It does not include the elegiac
    distich.