rhythm (English)
Where does "rhythm" come from?
The English word 'rhythm' descends from the ancient Greek 'rhuthmós,' which described any measured flow or regular, repeating movement. This Greek term traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*srew-,' meaning simply 'to flow.' By way of Latin, the word entered English in the 16th century to describe the organized cadence and pulse found in music, speech, and the natural world.
Full etymology tree
- rhythm (English), 'The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter.'
- inherited rhythmus (Latin), 'rhythm'
- borrowed ῥυθμός (rhuthmós) (Ancient Greek), 'a repeating, regular motion, vibration'
- inherited *hrutʰmós (Proto-Hellenic)
- inherited *sru-dʰ-mo-s (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *srew- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to flow, stream'
- influence *ser- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to flow'
- derived *srew- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to flow, stream'
- inherited *sru-dʰ-mo-s (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *hrutʰmós (Proto-Hellenic)
- borrowed ῥυθμός (rhuthmós) (Ancient Greek), 'a repeating, regular motion, vibration'
- inherited rhythmus (Latin), 'rhythm'
Direct ancestors
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris