rhythm

Rhythm is a recurring movement of sound or speech.

(noun)

See rhythm in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

1. flow, movement, procedure, etc. characterized by basically regular recurrence of elements or features, as beat, or accent, in alternation with opposite or different elements or features: the rhythm of speech, dancing, the heartbeat, etc.
2. such recurrence; pattern of flow or movement
an effect of ordered movement in a work of art, literature, drama, etc. attained through patterns in the timing, spacing, repetition, accenting, etc. of the elements
Biol. a periodic occurrence in living organisms of specific physiological changes, as the menstrual cycle, or a seasonal or daily variation in some activity, as sleep or feeding, in response to geophysical factors
Music
1. basically regular recurrence of grouped strong and weak beats, or heavily and lightly accented tones, in alternation; arrangement of successive tones, usually in measures, according to their relative accentuation and duration
2. the form or pattern of this: waltz rhythm
Prosody
1. basically regular recurrence of grouped stressed and unstressed, long and short, or high-pitched and low-pitched syllables in alternation; arrangement of successive syllables, as in metrical units (feet) or cadences, according to their relative stress, quantity, or pitch
2. the form or pattern of this: iambic rhythm

Origin: < Fr or L: Fr rythme < L rhythmus < Gr rhythmos, measure, measured motion < base of rheein, to flow: see stream

Related Forms:

See rhythm in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

Movement or variation characterized by the regular recurrence or alternation of different quantities or conditions: the rhythm of the tides.
The patterned, recurring alternations of contrasting elements of sound or speech.
Music
a. The pattern of musical movement through time.
b. A specific kind of such a pattern, formed by a series of notes differing in duration and stress: a waltz rhythm.
c. A group of instruments supplying the rhythm in a band.
a. The pattern or flow of sound created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in accentual verse or of long and short syllables in quantitative verse.
b. The similar but less formal sequence of sounds in prose.
c. A specific kind of metrical pattern or flow: iambic rhythm.
a. The sense of temporal development created in a work of literature or a film by the arrangement of formal elements such as the length of scenes, the nature and amount of dialogue, or the repetition of motifs.
b. A regular or harmonious pattern created by lines, forms, and colors in painting, sculpture, and other visual arts.
The pattern of development produced in a literary or dramatic work by repetition of elements such as words, phrases, incidents, themes, images, and symbols.
Procedure or routine characterized by regularly recurring elements, activities, or factors: the rhythm of civilization; the rhythm of the lengthy negotiations.