In classical poetry and metrics, a metrical foot consisting of four syllables arranged in a specific stressed/unstressed pattern.
From Greek chloriambos: chlor- (meaning 'lame' or 'halting') + iambos (the iambic metrical foot). Named in ancient Greek literary criticism for its limping rhythm.
The chloriamb is a 'lame' version of other metrical feet—its name literally means 'halting iamb'—showing how ancient Greeks named poetic meters based on how they sounded when read aloud.
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