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

Other parameters come into play, such as prosody, which includes pauses, accentuation and intonation.

From Science Daily • Dec. 19, 2023

This juxtaposition is far from coincidental, as the researchers' experiments revealed that dog brains respond in the same positive ways to exaggerated prosody as our very own infants.

From Salon • Aug. 28, 2023

Spencer showed a wonderful sense of prosody and storytelling in “I Know My Soul,” and Thompson sounded an exultant, if sometimes strident, call to celebration in “My People.”

From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2023

Seldom, though, has a guidebook to prosody ever been so sprightly, so much fun to read, with deeply knowledgeable insights gingered throughout with low-keyed humor.

From Washington Post • Apr. 27, 2022

One is to provide the reader with hints about prosody, thus bringing writing a bit closer to speech.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker