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Definition of prosody - 3 dictionary results

pros⋅o⋅dy

[pros-uh-dee]
–noun
1. the science or study of poetic meters and versification.
2. a particular or distinctive system of metrics and versification: Milton's prosody.
3. Linguistics. the stress and intonation patterns of an utterance.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L prosōdia < Gk prosōidía tone or accent, modulation of voice, song sung to music, equiv. to prós toward + ōid() ode + -ia -y 3


pro⋅sod⋅ic [pruh-sod-ik] , pro⋅sod⋅i⋅cal, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pros·o·dy   (prŏs'ə-dē)   
n.   pl. pros·o·dies
  1. The study of the metrical structure of verse.

  2. A particular system of versification.


[Middle English prosodie, from Latin prosōdia, accent, from Greek prosōidiā, song sung to music, accent : pros-, pros- + ōidē, song; see ode.]
pro·sod'ic (prə-sŏd'ĭk) adj., pro·sod'i·cal·ly adv., pros'o·dist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

prosody 
c.1450, from L. prosodia, from Gk. prosoidia "song sung to music," also "accent, modulation," from pros "to" + oide "song, poem" (see ode).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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