iambus
Americannoun
plural
iambi, iambusesEtymology
Origin of iambus
1580–90; < Latin < Greek íambos
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I`n e-x tre-ame de` sire And yet the first makes a iambus, and the second a trocheus ech sillable retayning still his former quantities.
From The Arte of English Poesie by Puttenham, George
The trochee and the dactyl are interchangeable; and the iambus and the anapest are interchangeable.
From English: Composition and Literature by Webster, W. F. (William Franklin)
By rapid utterance two syllables are often equal to one, and in this way an anapest is frequently used with the time value of an iambus.
From Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism by Painter, F. V. N. (Franklin Verzelius Newton)
Never take an iambus for a Christian name.
From The Art of Letters by Lynd, Robert
The daintiest alternation of iambus and trochee is joined to the serpent's cunning in swiftly tripping dactyls.
From Shandygaff by Morley, Christopher
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
