Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

prosody

play
noun pros·o·dy \ˈprä-sə-dē, -zə-\

Definition of prosody

plural

prosodies

  1. 1 :  the study of versification; especially :  the systematic study of metrical structure

  2. 2 :  a particular system, theory, or style of versification

  3. 3 :  the rhythmic and intonational aspect of language

prosodist

play \-dist\ noun

See prosody defined for English-language learners

See prosody defined for kids

Read the Latest from M-W

winning-words-from-the-national-spelling-bee-logo
Winning Words from Scripps Spelling Bee Quiz
image1694077559
Which Is The Correct Plural Spelling? (It's a Trick Question)
alt-59270ec8a7c80
A New Dictionary for a New President
alt-5929a3df1de57
Trending: Brzezinski: 'The Sine Qua Non of a Stable World Order'

Origin and Etymology of prosody

Middle English, from Latin prosodia accent of a syllable, from Greek prosōidia song sung to instrumental music, accent, from pros in addition to + ōidē song — more at pros-, ode


First Known Use: 15th century

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy

PROSODY Defined for English Language Learners

prosody

play
noun pros·o·dy \ˈprä-sə-dē, -zə-\

Definition of prosody for English Language Learners

  • : the rhythm and pattern of sounds of poetry and language

Learn More about prosody

  1. Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about prosody

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up prosody? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

abdicate

play

to give up a position of power

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. sine qua non 'Something that is considered essential'

  2. suborn "to induce secretly to do an unlawful thing"

  3. nutjob 'a mentally unbalanced person'

  4. collusion 'Secret cooperation for an illegal or dishonest purpose'

  5. counsel Is it 'council' or 'counsel'?

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

prosody

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • winning-words-from-the-national-spelling-bee-logo
  • Which is the correct spelling of the winning word from 1988?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59270ec8a7c80
A New Dictionary for a New President

JFK and Webster's Third

alt-5926e94cc0e45
'Climate' Change

No denying this word's history

alt-5925b73b3a62e
'Author' is a Verb

Beyond the mere act of writing

alt-592708149cf54
Don't Catch 'Flack' for Using 'Flak'

How a word for antiaircraft guns came to refer to PR pro

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

winning-words-from-the-national-spelling-bee-logo
Winning Words from Scripps Spelling Bee Quiz

Can you outdo past winners of the Spelling Bee?

Take the quiz
peter-bruegel-tower-of-babel-painting
Where in the World? A Quiz

Do you know what languages these words come from?

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game