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i·amb

(īămb′, īăm′) also i·am·bus

(ī-ămbəs)

n. pl. i·ambsalso i·am·bus·es , or i·am·bi (-bī′)

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

2. A metrical foot in quantitative verse composed of a short syllable followed by a long one.

[French iambe, from Latin iambus, from Greek iambos, iamb, iambic verse; akin to dīthurambos, dithyramb, ithumbos, song and dance for Dionysus, and thriambos, hymn to Dionysus, all possibly of pre-Greek substrate origin.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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