Rhythm

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

Rhythm, n. [F. rhythme, rythme, L. rhythmus, fr. Gr. measured motion, measure, proportion, fr. "rei^n to flow. See Stream.].

•  In the widest sense, a dividing into short portions by a regular succession of motions, impulses, sounds, accents, etc., producing an agreeable effect, as in music poetry, the dance, or the like.  [1913 Webster]
•  Movement in musical time, with periodical recurrence of accent; the measured beat or pulse which marks the character and expression of the music; symmetry of movement and accent.  Moore (Encyc.)  [1913 Webster]
•  A division of lines into short portions by a regular succession of arses and theses, or percussions and remissions of voice on words or syllables.  [1913 Webster]
•  The harmonious flow of vocal sounds.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Rhythm, n.
1 a measured flow of words and phrases in verse or prose determined by various relations of long and short or accented and unaccented syllables.
2 the aspect of musical composition concerned with periodical accent and the duration of notes.
3 Physiol. movement with a regular succession of strong and weak elements.
4 a regularly recurring sequence of events.
5 Art a harmonious correlation of parts.

Idiom

rhythm and blues popular music with a blues theme and a strong rhythm. rhythm method birth control by avoiding sexual intercourse when ovulation is likely to occur. rhythm section the part of a dance band or jazz band mainly supplying rhythm, usu. consisting of piano, bass, and drums.

Derivative

rhythmless adj.

Etymology

F rhythme or L rhythmus f. Gk rhuthmos, rel. to rheo flow

THESAURUS

Rhythm

Alexandrine, accent, accentuation, alternation, amphibrach, amphimacer, anacrusis, anapest, antispast, arrhythmia, arsis, bacchius, balance, beat, beating, beauty, cadence, cadency, caesura, catalexis, chloriamb, chloriambus, colon, concinnity, counterpoint, cretic, cyclicalness, dactyl, dactylic hexameter, diaeresis, dimeter, dipody, dochmiac, downbeat, drumming, elegiac, elegiac couplet, elegiac pentameter, emphasis, epitrite, equilibrium, euphony, feminine caesura, flutter, foot, harmony, heartbeat, heartthrob, heptameter, heptapody, heroic couplet, hexameter, hexapody, iamb, iambic, iambic pentameter, ictus, intermittence, intermittency, ionic, jingle, level of stress, lilt, masculine caesura, measure, measuredness, meter, metrical accent, metrical foot, metrical group, metrical unit, metrics, metron, molossus, mora, movement, number, numbers, order, orderedness, oscillation, paeon, palpitation, pendulum motion, pentameter, pentapody, period, periodicalness, periodicity, piston motion, pitapat, pitter-patter, primary stress, proceleusmatic, proportion, prosodics, prosody, pulsation, pulse, pyrrhic, quantity, rat-a-tat, rataplan, reappearance, recurrence, regular wave motion, reoccurrence, return, rhyme, rhythmic pattern, rhythmical stress, seasonality, secondary stress, spondee, sprung rhythm, staccato, stress, stress accent, stress pattern, sweetness, swing, symmetry, syzygy, tempo, tertiary stress, tetrameter, tetrapody, tetraseme, thesis, throb, throbbing, time, timing, tribrach, trimeter, tripody, triseme, trochee, undulation, upbeat, weak stress

ROGET THESAURUS

Rhythm

Poetry

N poetry, poetics, poesy, Muse, Calliope, tuneful Nine, Parnassus, Helicon, Pierides, Pierian spring, versification, rhyming, making verses, prosody, orthometry, poem, epic, epic poem, epopee, epopoea, ode, epode, idyl, lyric, eclogue, pastoral, bucolic, dithyramb, anacreontic, sonnet, roundelay, rondeau, rondo, madrigal, canzonet, cento, monody, elegy, amoebaeum, ghazal, palinode, dramatic poetry, lyric poetry, opera, posy, anthology, disjecta membra poetae song, ballad, lay, love song, drinking song, war song, sea song, lullaby, music, nursery rhymes, doggerel, Hudibrastic verse, prose run mad, macaronics, macaronic verse, leonine verse, runes, canto, stanza, distich, verse, line, couplet, triplet, quatrain, strophe, antistrophe, verse, rhyme, assonance, crambo, meter, measure, foot, numbers, strain, rhythm, accentuation, dactyl, spondee, trochee, anapest, hexameter, pentameter, Alexandrine, anacrusis, antispast, blank verse, ictus, elegiacs, elegiac verse, elegaic meter, elegaic poetry, poet, poet laureate, laureate, bard, lyrist, scald, skald, troubadour, trouvere, minstrel, minnesinger, meistersinger, improvisatore, versifier, sonneteer, rhymer, rhymist, rhymester, ballad monger, runer, poetaster, genus irritabile vatum, poetic, poetical, lyric, lyrical, tuneful, epic, dithyrambic, metrical, a catalectin, elegiac, iambic, trochaic, anapestic, amoebaeic, Melibean, skaldic, Ionic, Sapphic, Alcaic, Pindaric, a poem round and perfect as a star, Dichtung und Wahrheit, furor poeticus, his virtues formed the magic of his song, I do but sing because I must, I learnt life from the poets, licentia vatum, mutum est pictura poema, O for a muse of fire!, sweet food of sweetly uttered knowledge, the true poem is the poet's mind, Volk der Dichter und Denker, wisdom married to immortal verse.

Repetition

N repetition, iteration, reiteration, harping, recurrence, succession, run, battology, tautology, monotony, tautophony, rhythm, diffuseness, pleonasm, redundancy, chimes, repetend, echo, ritornello, burden of a song, refrain, rehearsal, rechauffe, rifacimento, recapitulation, cuckoo, reverberation, drumming, renewal, twice-told tale, old story, old song, second edition, new edition, reappearance, reproduction, recursion, periodicity, repeated, repetitional, repetitionary, recurrent, recurring, ever recurring, thick coming, frequent, incessant, redundant, pleonastic, monotonous, harping, iterative, recursive, unvaried, mocking, chiming, retold, aforesaid, aforenamed, above-mentioned, above-said, habitual, another, repeatedly, often, again, anew, over again, afresh, once more, ding-dong, ditto, encore, de novo, bis, da capo, again and again, over and over, over and over again, recursively, many times over, time and again, time after time, year after year, day by day, many times, several times, a number of times, many a time, full many a time, frequently, ecce iterum Crispinus, toujours perdrix, cut and come again, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, cantilenam eandem canis, nullum est jam dictum quod non dictum sit prius.

Periodicity

N regularity of recurrence, periodicity, intermittence, beat, oscillation, pulse, pulsation, rhythm, alternation, alternateness, alternativeness, alternity, bout, round, revolution, rotation, turn, say, anniversary, jubilee, centenary, catamenia, courses, menses, menstrual flux, rota, cycle, period, stated time, routine, days of the week, Sunday, Monday, months of the year, January, feast, fast, Christmas, Easter, New Year's day, Allhallows, Allhallowmas, All Saints' Day, All Souls', All Souls' Day, Ash Wednesday, bicentennial, birthday, bissextile, Candlemas, Dewali, groundhog day, Halloween, Hallowmas, Lady day, leap year, Midsummer day, Muharram, woodchuck day, St. Swithin's day, natal day, yearbook, yuletide, punctuality, regularity, steadiness, periodic, periodical, serial, recurrent, cyclical, rhythmical, recurring, intermittent, remittent, alternate, every other, hourly, diurnal, daily, quotidian, tertian, weekly, hebdomadal, hebdomadary, biweekly, fortnightly, bimonthly, catamenial, monthly, menstrual, yearly, annual, biennial, triennial, centennial, secular, paschal, lenten, regular, steady, punctual, regular as clockwork, periodically, at regular intervals, at stated times, at fixed established, at established periods, punctually, de die in diem, from day to day, day by day, by turns, in turn, in rotation, alternately, every other day, off and on, ride and tie, round and round.

Concord

N concord, accord, harmony, symphony, homologue, agreement, sympathy, empathy, response, union, unison, unity, bonds of harmony, peace, unanimity, league, happy family, rapprochement, reunion, amity, alliance, entente cordiale, good understanding, conciliation, peacemaker, intercessor, mediator, concordant, congenial, agreeing, in accord, harmonious, united, cemented, banded together, allied, friendly, fraternal, conciliatory, at one with, of one mind, at peace, in still water, tranquil, with one voice, in concert with, hand in hand, on one's side, commune periculum concordiam parit, melody concord, melody, rhythm, measure, rhyme, pitch, timbre, intonation, tone, scale, gamut, diapason, diatonic chromatic scale, enharmonic scale, key, clef, chords, modulation, temperament, syncope, syncopation, preparation, suspension, resolution, staff, stave, line, space, brace, bar, rest, appoggiato, appoggiatura, acciaccatura, note, musical note, notes of a scale, sharp, flat, natural, high note, low note, interval, semitone, second, third, fourth, diatessaron, breve, semibreve, minim, crotchet, quaver, semiquaver, demisemiquaver, hemidemisemiquaver, sustained note, drone, burden, tonic, key note, leading note, fundamental note, supertonic, mediant, dominant, submediant, subdominant, octave, tetrachord, major key, minor key, major scale, minor scale, major mode, minor mode, passage, phrase, concord, harmony, emmeleia, unison, unisonance, chime, homophony, euphony, euphonism, tonality, consonance, consent, part, harmony, harmonics, thorough-bass, fundamental-bass, counterpoint, faburden, piece of music, composer, harmonist, contrapuntist (musician), harmonious, harmonical, in concord, in tune, in concert, unisonant, concentual, symphonizing, isotonic, homophonous, assonant, ariose, consonant, measured, rhythmical, diatonic, chromatic, enharmonic, melodious, musical, melic, tuneful, tunable, sweet, dulcet, canorous, mellow, mellifluous, soft, clear, clear as a bell, silvery, euphonious, euphonic, euphonical, symphonious, enchanting fine-toned, full-toned, silver-toned, harmoniously, in harmony, as one, the hidden soul of harmony.