from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Epode \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.
[1913 Webster]