'iambic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'iambikos', where the root 'iambos' referred to a short satirical poem and came to denote the metrical foot 'iamb'.

'iambic' passed into Latin as 'iambicus' and then into Middle English (via scholarly/poetic Latin and Old French influence) before becoming the modern English adjective 'iambic'.

Initially associated with 'iambic verse' and satirical or lyrical lines in ancient Greek, it evolved to mean generally 'of or relating to iambs' and is now used to describe meter (e.g., iambic pentameter) in English and other European poetic traditions.