English Explanatory Dictionary

rhythm

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter.
  2. A specifically defined pattern of such variation.
  3. A flow, repetition or regularity.
  4. The tempo or speed of a beat, song or repetitive event.
  5. The musical instruments which provide rhythm (mainly; not or less melody) in a musical ensemble.
  6. A regular quantitative change in a variable (notably natural) process.
  7. Controlled repetition of a phrase, incident or other element as a stylistic figure in literature and other narrative arts; the effect it creates.
  8. A person's natural feeling for rhythm.
verb
  1. To impart a (particular) rhythm to.

Pronunciation

/ˈɹɪð.m̩/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-rhythm.wav en-us-rhythm.ogg

Word forms

rhythm rhythms rhythming rhythmed

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ser-? Proto-Indo-European *srew- Proto-Indo-European *sru-dʰ-mo-s Proto-Hellenic *hrutʰmós Ancient Greek ῥῠθμός (rhŭthmós)bor. Latin rhythmusder. English rhythm First coined in 1557, from Latin rhythmus, from Ancient Greek ῥυθμός (rhuthmós, “any measured flow or movement, symmetry, rhythm”), from ῥέω (rhéō, “to flow, run, stream, gush”).

Synonyms

meter metre prosody rhythm section

Related words

rhythmicity rhythmics rhythmist rhythmize

Derived words

alpha rhythm battle rhythm biorhythm circadian rhythm counterrhythm cross-rhythm dysrhythmia escape rhythm homorhythm isorhythm Lombardic rhythm Lombard rhythm microrhythm plagiarhythm poly-rhythm polyrhythm rhythmal rhythm and blues rhythm and grime rhythm band rhythm box rhythmed rhythmer rhythm game rhythm guitar rhythmic rhythmical rhythming rhythmise rhythmite rhythmless rhythm method rhythmogenetic rhythmology rhythmometer rhythm pole rhythm royal rhythm stick sinus rhythm tachyrhythmia theta rhythm
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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