| common measure (def. 2). |
| 1. | common time. |
| 2. | Also called common meter, hymnal stanza. Prosody. a ballad stanza of four iambic lines and strict rhymes, often used in hymns, rhyming abcb or abab. |
| common measure n. A ballad stanza form in iambic meter, often rhyming in alternating pairs, that is typical of many church hymns. Also called common meter, hymnal stanza. |
| hymnal stanza n. See common measure. |