common measure

noun
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.
Origin
1710-20
Examples from the web for common measure
  • When literature is danced or chanted in common there must be some common measure, some time-keeper.
  • It also provides a common measure to show how much growth the students of each school have achieved.
  • Standard administration practices are implemented to provide a common measure of student achievement.
British Dictionary definitions for common measure

common measure

noun
1.
another term for common time
2.
the usual stanza form of a ballad, consisting of four iambic lines rhyming a b c b or a b a b