rhythm

Meaning

Noun

• The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter.
• A specifically defined pattern of such variation.
• A flow, repetition or regularity.
• The tempo or speed of a beat, song or repetitive event.
• The musical instruments which provide rhythm (mainly; not or less melody) in a musical ensemble.
• A regular quantitative change in a variable (notably natural) process.
• Controlled repetition of a phrase, incident or other element as a stylistic figure in literature and other narrative arts; the effect it creates.

Related

Similar words

• meter / metre
• prosody
• (instruments providing rhythm) rhythm section

Origin

• First coined in 1557, from Latin rhythmus, from Ancient Greek ῥυθμός ("any measured flow or movement, symmetry, rhythm"), from ῥέω.