rhythm

[rith -uh m] /ˈrɪð əm/
noun
1.
movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent, or the like.
2.
Music.
  1. the pattern of regular or irregular pulses caused in music by the occurrence of strong and weak melodic and harmonic beats.
  2. 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.
6.
Prosody.
  1. metrical or rhythmical form; meter; cadence.
  2. a particular kind of metrical form.
  3. 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.
Origin
1550-60; < Latin rhythmus < Greek rhythmós; compare rheîn to flow
Related forms
rhythmless, adjective
nonrhythm, noun
Can be confused
rhyme, rhythm.
Synonyms
9. flow, pulse, cadence.
Examples from the web for rhythm
  • Dance is a fundamental form of human expression that likely evolved together with music as a way of generating rhythm.
  • When a rapper jumps on a beat, he adds his own rhythm.
  • He made the piano sound clear and pleasing, and he got along with the rhythm section.
  • Bodies would twirl along with the rhythm of the music.
  • To create a form is not merely to invent a shape, a rhyme or rhythm.
  • It is also the realization of the whole appropriate content of this rhyme or rhythm.
  • And, in both, the inner rhythm of thought is accompanied and borne out by new and exquisite rhythms of musical verse.
  • He based all his later work upon the idea of poetry as a spoken art and developed it along the line of rhythm.
  • Reference to length of circadian rhythm also adjusted.
  • Brain waves are generated naturally when groups of neurons fire in a certain rhythm.
British Dictionary definitions for rhythm

rhythm

/ˈrɪðəm/
noun
1.
  1. 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
  2. any specific arrangement of such groupings; time: quadruple rhythm
2.
(in poetry)
  1. the arrangement of words into a more or less regular sequence of stressed and unstressed or long and short syllables
  2. 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
Derived Forms
rhythmless, adjective
Word Origin
C16: from Latin rhythmus, from Greek rhuthmos; related to rhein to flow
Word Origin and History for rhythm
n.

1550s, "rhymed verse, metrical movement," from Latin rhythmus "movement in time," from Greek rhythmos "measured flow or movement, rhythm; proportion, symmetry; arrangement, order; form, shape, wise, manner; soul, disposition," related to rhein "to flow," from PIE root *sreu- "to flow" (see rheum). Rhythm method of birth control attested from 1936. Rhythm and blues, U.S. music style, is from 1949 (first in "Billboard").

rhythm in Medicine

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

rhythm in Culture

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.