(of rhythm in poetry 诗的韵步 in which one weak or short syllable is followed by one strong or long syllable 抑扬格的（每一短或弱音节后接一长或强音节） a poem written in iambic pentameters (= in lines of ten syllables, five short and five long) 抑扬格五音步诗
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from French iambique, via late Latin from Greek iambikos, from iambos ‘iambus, lampoon’, from iaptein ‘attack verbally’ (because the iambic trimeter was first used by Greek satirists).