Rhythm Definition
rĭthəm
rhythms
noun
rhythms
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.
Webster's New World
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.
Webster's New World
The patterned, recurring alternations of contrasting elements of sound or speech.
American Heritage
The pattern of development produced in a literary or dramatic work by repetition of elements such as words, phrases, incidents, themes, images, and symbols.
American Heritage
Procedure or routine characterized by regularly recurring elements, activities, or factors.
The rhythm of civilization; the rhythm of the lengthy negotiations.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
- musical rhythm
- beat
- round
- cycle
- speech rhythm
- regular recurrence
- calendar method of birth control
- calendar-method
- rhythm-method
- rhythm method of birth control
- measure
- cadency
- swing
- meter
- cadence
Other Word Forms of Rhythm
Noun
Singular:
rhythmPlural:
rhythmsOrigin of Rhythm
-
First coined 1557, from Latin rhythmus, from Ancient Greek ῥυθμός (rhythmos, “any measured flow or movement, symmetry, rhythm"), from ῥέω (rhèō, “I flow, run, stream, gush").
From Wiktionary
-
Latin rhythmus from Greek rhuthmos sreu- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Rhythm Is Also Mentioned In
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