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How To Use ParallelismsWhen writers use very similar wording across several sentences or lines of poetry, it’s known as parallel sentence structure. Doing this creates rhythm and balance. Parallel sentence structures are also known as parallelisms. Simple parallelisms may be as short as words or phrases. More complex ones may combine entire clauses or sentences. Parallel sentence structures can highlight aspects of stories and poems in many ways. …
Nearby words
Origin of rhythm
1550–60; < Latin rhythmus < Greek rhythmós; compare rheîn to flow
Related forms
rhythm·less, adjectivenon·rhythm, nounCan be confused
rhyme rhythmDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for rhythm
British Dictionary definitions for rhythm
rhythm
/ (ˈrɪðəm) /
noun
- 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
- any specific arrangement of such groupings; timequadruple rhythm
(in poetry)
- the arrangement of words into a more or less regular sequence of stressed and unstressed or long and short syllables
- any specific such arrangement; metre
(in painting, sculpture, architecture, etc) a harmonious sequence or pattern of masses alternating with voids, of light alternating with shade, of alternating colours, etc
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, adjectiveWord Origin for rhythm
C16: from Latin rhythmus, from Greek rhuthmos; related to rhein to flow
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medicine definitions for rhythm
rhythm
[ rĭð′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.
Culture definitions for rhythm
rhythm
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 New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.