metre,
n. [OE.
metre, F.
mètre, L.
metrum, fr. Gr. ; akin to Skr.
mā to measure. See
Mete to measure.].
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.