iamb

i·amb  (mb, m) also i·am·bus (-mbs)

n. pl. i·ambs also i·am·bus·es or i·am·bi (-b)

A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable or a short syllable followed by a long syllable, as in delay.

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[French iambe, from Latin iambus, from Greek iambos.]

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iamb [ˈaɪæm ˈaɪæmb], iambus [aɪˈæmbəs]

n pl iambs, iambi [aɪˈæmbaɪ], iambuses Prosody

1. (Literature / Poetry) a metrical foot consisting of two syllables, a short one followed by a long one (˘ ¯)

2. (Literature / Poetry) a line of verse of such feet

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

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iamb

a foot of two syllables, the first short or unstressed, the second long or stressed. — iambic, adj.

See also: Verse

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Iamb of poets—Lipton, 1970.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

iamb - a metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syllables iambus metrical foot, metrical unit, foot - (prosody) a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm