polyrhythm

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noun

Music with multiple rhythmic elements played simultaneously.

OriginEnglish rhythm ← Latin rhythmus ← Ancient Greek ῥῠθμός (rhŭthmós) →
Scrabble 26
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Meanings

nounpolyrhythm (countable and uncountable, plural polyrhythms)

plural polyrhythms · alternative poly-rhythm

  1. uncountableentertainmentMusic with multiple rhythmic elements played simultaneously.
  2. countableentertainmentA rhythm or set of rhythms performed as part of a piece of music with multiple rhythmic elements played simultaneously, typically equally spaced in time and coprime.
  3. countableentertainmentMusic containing such a rhythm.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*polh₁ús
  3. Ancient Greekπολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)
  4. Englishpoly-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*ser-?
  6. Proto-Indo-European*srew-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*sru-dʰ-mo-s
  8. Proto-Hellenic*hrutʰmós
  9. Ancient Greekῥῠθμός (rhŭthmós)
  10. Latinrhythmus
  11. Englishrhythm
  12. Englishpolyrhythm

From poly- + rhythm.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

polyrhythm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyrhythm

MLA

“polyrhythm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyrhythm. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polyrhythm,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyrhythm.

Source: polyrhythm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.