prosody

American  

[pros-uh-dee] / ˈprɒs ə di /

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.

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prosody British  

/ prəˈsɒdɪk, ˈprɒsədɪ /

noun

1. the study of poetic metre and of the art of versification, including rhyme, stanzaic forms, and the quantity and stress of syllables

2. a system of versification

3. the patterns of stress and intonation in a language

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Other Word Forms

• prosodic
  adjective
• prosodical
  adjective
• prosodist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of prosody

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin prosōdia, from Greek prosōidía “tone or accent, modulation of voice, song sung to music,” equivalent to prós “toward” + ōid(ḗ) ode + -ia -y ³

Explanation

Prosody is the rhythm and sounds used in poetry. Kids who can freestyle rap fit the prosody of their words to a rhythm that's already laid down. Prosody can also mean the study of the rhythms and sounds of language, and sometimes you can talk about the prosody of prose. It's about where the emphasis falls in the words and how those work together. When you read great writers like Alice Munro aloud, you will see that their prosody, as much as anything, is what carries the story forward.

Example Sentences

His dissertation, Theory of Prosody in Eighteenth-Century England, was published in 1954, by which time he was teaching at Connecticut College for Women.

From The Guardian • May 24, 2012

"Ask papa what he thinks of Miss Prosody."

From Bluebell A Novel by Huddleston, Mrs. George Croft

Miss Prosody was taking a peaceful afternoon snooze; and if she did hear the scampering about the house, they were not unaccustomed sounds on a wet day.

From Bluebell A Novel by Huddleston, Mrs. George Croft

Any such incident might have commenced an acquaintance, were it not that Miss Prosody, with a boatful of children, was never far off, and had a scaring and terrifying effect.

From Bluebell A Novel by Huddleston, Mrs. George Croft

There is a river in Macedon and a river in Monmouth: in like manner there are positions in dancing and positions in Prosody.

From The Comic Latin Grammar A new and facetious introduction to the Latin tongue by Leech, John