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rhythm

 [rith-uhm]   Origin

rhythm

   [rith-uhm]
noun
1.
movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent, or the like.
2.
Music.
a.
the pattern of regular or irregular pulses caused in music by the occurrence of strong and weak melodic and harmonic beats.
b.
a particular form of this: duple rhythm; triple rhythm.
3.
measured movement, as in dancing.
4.
Art, Literature. a patterned repetition of a motif, formal element, etc., at regular or irregular intervals in the same or a modified form.
5.
the effect produced in a play, film, novel, etc., by the combination or arrangement of formal elements, as length of scenes, speech and description, timing, or recurrent themes, to create movement, tension, and emotional value in the development of the plot.
EXPAND
6.
Prosody.
a.
metrical or rhythmical form; meter.
b.
a particular kind of metrical form.
c.
metrical movement.
7.
the pattern of recurrent strong and weak accents, vocalization and silence, and the distribution and combination of these elements in speech.
8.
Physiology. the regular recurrence of an action or function, as of the beat of the heart, or the menstrual cycle.
9.
procedure marked by the regular recurrence of particular elements, phases, etc.: the rhythm of the seasons.
10.
regular recurrence of elements in a system of motion.
COLLAPSE
Origin:
1550–60; < Latin rhythmus < Greek rhythmós; compare rheîn to flow

Related forms
rhythm·less, adjective
non·rhythm, noun

Can be confused: rhyme, rhythm.

Synonyms
9. flow, pulse, cadence.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Rhythm is always a great word to know.
So is root. Does it mean:
chord which contains an augmented interval
fundamental tone of a compound tone or of a series of harmonies
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Collins
World English Dictionary
rhythm (ˈrɪðəm)
 
—n
1.  a.  the arrangement of the relative durations of and accents on the notes of a melody, usually laid out into regular groups (bars) of beats, the first beat of each bar carrying the stress
 b.  any specific arrangement of such groupings; time: quadruple rhythm
2.  in poetry
 a.  the arrangement of words into a more or less regular sequence of stressed and unstressed or long and short syllables
 b.  any specific such arrangement; metre
3.  (in painting, sculpture, architecture, etc) a harmonious sequence or pattern of masses alternating with voids, of light alternating with shade, of alternating colours, etc
4.  any sequence of regularly recurring functions or events, such as the regular recurrence of certain physiological functions of the body, as the cardiac rhythm of the heartbeat
 
[C16: from Latin rhythmus, from Greek rhuthmos; related to rhein to flow]
 
'rhythmless
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

rhythm
c.1557, from L. rhythmus "movement in time," from Gk. rhythmos "measured flow or movement, rhythm," related to rhein "to flow," from PIE base *sreu- "to flow" (see rheum). In M.L., rithmus was used for accentual, as opposed to quantitative, verse, and accentual verse was usually
EXPAND
rhymed. Rhythm method of birth control attested from 1940. Rhythm and blues, U.S. music style, is from 1949.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

rhythm (rĭ&phonth;'əm)
n.
Movement or variation characterized by the regular recurrence or alternation of different quantities or conditions, as in the heartbeat.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

rhythm definition


The “beat” of music; the regular pattern of long and short notes. Certain kinds of music, such as blues or marches, have a very characteristic rhythm. Rhythm, harmony, and melody are elements of music.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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