rhyme English · revision 1066

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹaɪm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a 16th-century respelling of [[inh|enm|rime|t=measure, meter; rhymed verse]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) [[bor|fro|rime]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The origin of the Old French word is disputed: it is often traced to [[la|rhythmus]], [[der|grc|ῥυθμός|tr=rhythmós|t=measured flow, rhythm]],^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) while Barnhart, Random House and the AHD derive it from a Germanic source related to [[goh|rīm|t=number, series]] and [[ang|rīm|t=number]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU)^(AHD) The spelling with ''rh-'' was introduced around 1600 under the influence of [[rhythm]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Middle English ''rime'' meant measure or rhythm (c. 1200), and later rhymed verse (before 1250).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Medieval Latin ''rithmus'' was used of accentual verse, as opposed to verse based on syllable length, and since accentual verse was usually rhymed the word came to mean the agreement of end sounds.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The respelled ''rhyme'' is recorded from 1610 for a piece of rhymed verse,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from 1656 for a word that rhymes with another,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and from 1663 for the agreement of sounds itself.^(OED 1989) The old spelling ''rime'' survived alongside it,^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) perhaps helped by the unrelated Old English ''rīm'' “number”.^(Etymonline) The phrase ''rhyme or reason'' dates from the late 15th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – Middle English ''rime'', measure, meter, rhythm.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-13th century – rhymed verse.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – Middle English verb ''rimen''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * late 15th century – ''rhyme or reason''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1610 – the spelling ''rhyme''; a piece of rhymed verse.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1656 – a word that rhymes with another.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1663 – agreement of the end sounds of words or lines.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Correspondence of the end sounds of words or of lines of [[verse]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A word that agrees with another in its end sound, as ''find'' and ''mind''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[poem]] or verse whose lines rhyme; also, rhyming verse or [[poetry]] in general.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To form a rhyme; of words or lines, to end in sounds that correspond.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To compose rhymes or rhyming verse.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To put into rhyme, or to use a word as a rhyme.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rhymeless]]

+ * [[rhymer]]

+ * [[rhymester]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rhythm]]

+ * [[rime]]

+ * [[nursery rhyme]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}