rhyme

or rime

[ rahym ]

/ raɪm /

noun

identity in sound of some part, especially the end, of words or lines of verse.

a word agreeing with another in terminal sound: Find is a rhyme for mind and womankind.

verse or poetry having correspondence in the terminal sounds of the lines.

a poem or piece of verse having such correspondence.

verse(def 4).

verb (used with object), rhymed, rhym·ing.

to treat in rhyme, as a subject; turn into rhyme, as something in prose.

to compose (verse or the like) in metrical form with rhymes.

to use (a word) as a rhyme to another word; use (words) as rhymes.

verb (used without object), rhymed, rhym·ing.

to make rhyme or verse; versify.

to use rhyme in writing verse.

to form a rhyme, as one word or line with another: a word that rhymes with orange.

to be composed in metrical form with rhymes, as verse: poetry that rhymes.

Idioms for rhyme

rhyme or reason, logic, sense, or plan: There was no rhyme or reason for what they did.

Origin of rhyme

1250–1300; Middle English rime < Old French, derivative of rimer to rhyme < Gallo-Romance *rimāre to put in a row ≪ Old High German rīm series, row; probably not connected with Latin rhythmus rhythm, although current spelling (from c1600) apparently by association with this word

historical usage of rhyme

The spelling and etymology of the noun rhyme fall between two stools. Its Middle English forms rym (in The Canterbury Tales, from around 1387), ryym (in Wycliffe’s Bible ), and rime derive from Anglo-French, Old French, and Middle French rime, ryme. Note the absence of h in all these spellings.
The source of the French rime is from an unrecorded Gallo-Romance verb rimāre “to set in a row,” a derivative of the Germanic noun rīm “number, series,” and possibly developing the senses “series of rhymed syllables” and “rhymed verse.”
The English spelling rhyme dates from around 1600 and shows the influence of the unrelated Latin rhetorical term rhythmus “a patterned sequence of sounds; measured flow of words or phrases in prose,” a borrowing from Greek rhythmós, which has the same meanings.

OTHER WORDS FROM rhyme

rhym·er, noun in·ter·rhyme, verb (used without object), in·ter·rhymed, in·ter·rhym·ing. mis·rhymed, adjective non·rhyme, noun

non·rhymed, adjective non·rhym·ing, adjective out·rhyme, verb (used with object), out·rhymed, out·rhym·ing. un·rhyme, verb (used with object), un·rhymed, un·rhym·ing. well-rhymed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH rhyme

rhyme rhythm

Words nearby rhyme

rhumb line, rhumb sailing, rhumba, rhumbatron, rhus, rhyme, rhyme or reason, no, rhyme royal, rhyme scheme, rhymester, rhyming slang

British Dictionary definitions for non-rhyme

rhyme

archaic rime

/ (raɪm) /

noun

identity of the terminal sounds in lines of verse or in words

a word that is identical to another in its terminal sound ``while'' is a rhyme for ``mile''

a verse or piece of poetry having corresponding sounds at the ends of the lines the boy made up a rhyme about his teacher

any verse or piece of poetry

rhyme or reason sense, logic, or meaning this proposal has no rhyme or reason

verb

to use (a word) or (of a word) to be used so as to form a rhyme; be or make identical in sound

to render (a subject) into rhyme

to compose (verse) in a metrical structure

See also masculine rhyme, feminine rhyme, eye rhyme

Derived forms of rhyme

rhymeless or rimeless, adjective

Word Origin for rhyme

C12: from Old French rime, from rimer to rhyme, from Old High German rīm a number; spelling influenced by rhythm

Cultural definitions for non-rhyme

rhyme

A similarity of sound between words, such as moon, spoon, croon, tune, and June. Rhyme is often employed in verse.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

rhyme

or rime

noun

verb (used with object), rhymed, rhym·ing.

verb (used without object), rhymed, rhym·ing.

Idioms for rhyme

Origin of rhyme

historical usage of rhyme

OTHER WORDS FROM rhyme

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH rhyme

Words nearby rhyme

British Dictionary definitions for non-rhyme

archaic rime

noun

verb

Derived forms of rhyme

Word Origin for rhyme

Cultural definitions for non-rhyme

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

rhyme

or rime

noun

verb (used with object), rhymed, rhym·ing.

verb (used without object), rhymed, rhym·ing.

Idioms for rhyme

Origin of rhyme

historical usage of rhyme

OTHER WORDS FROM rhyme

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH rhyme

Words nearby rhyme

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for non-rhyme

archaic rime

noun

verb

Derived forms of rhyme

Word Origin for rhyme

Cultural definitions for non-rhyme

British Dictionary definitions for non-rhyme