noun
iamb
EYE-am/ˈaɪæm/
A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
An iamb moves from the unstressed “a” to the stressed “WAY.”
Etymology
Greek iambos named a metrical unit measured by syllable length. English poets adapted the ancient term to stress, yielding the familiar unstressed-then-stressed foot.
In context
The repeating unit here is one unstressed syllable and one stressed syllable. This type of metrical foot is called an iamb and there are five of them here.
More examples
- The word “believe” is an iamb.
- Five iambs make up a line of iambic pentameter.
- Read each iamb with a light beat followed by a strong beat.
Forms
iamb · iambs
iambic adjective — Written in or characterized by iambs.
Similar words
- iambic foot
- Names the same rhythm while explicitly identifying the metrical unit.