terza rima

noun Prosody.

1. an Italian form of iambic verse consisting of eleven-syllable lines arranged in tercets, the middle line of each tercet rhyming with the first and last lines of the following tercet.

noun plural terze rime (ˈtɛətseɪ ˈriːmeɪ)

1. a verse form of Italian origin consisting of a series of tercets in which the middle line of one tercet rhymes with the first and third lines of the next

n.1819, Italian, literally “third rhyme.” Dante’s measure: a-b-a-b-c-b-c-d-c-, etc.