common metre

British  

noun

1. a stanza form, used esp for hymns, consisting of four lines, two of eight syllables alternating with two of six

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

common metre

This is the common metre of the Psalm versions.

From A Handbook of the English Language by R. G. (Robert Gordon) Latham

Mother Carey played the dear old common metre tune, and the voices rang out in Whittier's hymn.

From Mother Carey's Chickens by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin

These thirty-seven tunes, all of which but one were in common metre, were bound often with "The Bay Psalm-Book."

From Sabbath in Puritan New England by Alice Morse Earle

The syllables are as in the common metre, but it has thrice the rhymes.

From Thomas Davis, Selections from his Prose and Poetry by T. W. (Thomas William) Rolleston

Yet, by these presents, witness all,     She's welcome fifty times,   And comes consigned to Hope and Love     And common metre rhymes.

From Mother Carey's Chickens by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin