iamb

[ahy-am, ahy-amb]

noun

Prosody.

1. a foot of two syllables, a short followed by a long in quantitative meter, or an unstressed followed by a stressed in accentual meter, as in Come live / with me / and be / my love.

iamb

/ ˈaɪæm, ˈaɪæmb, aɪˈæmbəs /

noun

1. a metrical foot consisting of two syllables, a short one followed by a long one ( )

2. a line of verse of such feet

Word History and Origins

Origin of iamb¹

First recorded in 1835–45; short for iambus

Word History and Origins

Origin of iamb¹

C19 iamb, from C16 iambus, from Latin, from Greek iambos

Example Sentences

All I can say is, iamb happy to have been there for it.

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Five iambs and an anapest was the beat he tramped to now.

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Without the translation, the vuvv’s ode, its scratchy iambs and dactyls, sound like someone walking forcefully in corduroys.

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That’s the spirit of the terrible, wonderful “Desperate Measures”: Have iamb, will travel.

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You could wish that Mr. Stuelpnagel had found more to work with in the iambs.

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