Common meter

Common meter
Meter Me"ter, Metre Me"tre, n. [OE. metre, F. m[`e]tre, L. metrum, fr. Gr. ?; akin to Skr. m[=a] to measure. See {Mete} to measure.] 1. Rhythmical arrangement of syllables or words into verses, stanzas, strophes, etc.; poetical measure, depending on number, quantity, and accent of syllables; rhythm; measure; verse; also, any specific rhythmical arrangements; as, the Horatian meters; a dactylic meter. [1913 Webster]

The only strict antithesis to prose is meter. --Wordsworth. [1913 Webster]

2. A poem. [Obs.] --Robynson (More's Utopia). [1913 Webster]

3. A measure of length, equal to 39.37 English inches, the standard of linear measure in the metric system of weights and measures. It was intended to be, and is very nearly, the ten millionth part of the distance from the equator to the north pole, as ascertained by actual measurement of an arc of a meridian. See {Metric system}, under {Metric}. [1913 Webster]

{Common meter} (Hymnol.), four iambic verses, or lines, making a stanza, the first and third having each four feet, and the second and fourth each three feet; -- usually indicated by the initials C. M.

{Long meter} (Hymnol.), iambic verses or lines of four feet each, four verses usually making a stanza; -- commonly indicated by the initials L. M.

{Short meter} (Hymnol.), iambic verses or lines, the first, second, and fourth having each three feet, and the third four feet. The stanza usually consists of four lines, but is sometimes doubled. Short meter is indicated by the initials S. M. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • common meter — noun the usual (iambic) meter of a ballad • Syn: ↑common measure • Hypernyms: ↑meter, ↑metre, ↑measure, ↑beat, ↑cadence …   Useful english dictionary

  • common meter — noun see common measure …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Common metre — or Common measure,[1] abbreviated C. M., is a poetic meter consisting of four lines which alternate between iambic tetrameter (four metrical feet per line, with each foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable) and… …   Wikipedia

  • Meter — Me ter, Metre Me tre, n. [OE. metre, F. m[ e]tre, L. metrum, fr. Gr. ?; akin to Skr. m[=a] to measure. See {Mete} to measure.] 1. Rhythmical arrangement of syllables or words into verses, stanzas, strophes, etc.; poetical measure, depending on… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • Meter (music) — Musical and lyric metre. See also: Hymn meter and Poetic meter. Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry (Scholes 1977; Latham 2002) where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of… …   Wikipedia

  • common measure — noun 1. a time signature indicating four beats to the bar • Syn: ↑common time, ↑four four time, ↑quadruple time • Hypernyms: ↑musical time 2. an integer that divides two (or more) other integers evenly • Syn: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • Meter —    The consistent pattern of accented and unaccented beats, which themselves must occur at consistent time intervals. The strength of metric perception depends upon how regular in time are the phenomenal accents and the qualitative difference… …   Historical dictionary of sacred music

  • Meter (hymn) — A hymn meter or metre indicates the number of syllables for the lines in each stanza of a hymn. This provides a means of marrying the hymn s text with an appropriate hymn tune for singing. Contents 1 Hymn and poetic meter 2 Representation 3… …   Wikipedia

  • common measure — noun Date: 1922 a meter consisting chiefly of iambic lines of 7 accents each arranged in rhymed pairs usually printed in 4 line stanzas called also common meter …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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