prosodyn.
/ˈprɒsədi/, /ˈprɒzədi/, /ˈprəʊzədi/, U.S. /ˈprɑsədi/α. late Middle English–1500s prosodye, late Middle English– prosody, 1500s–1700s prosodie.
β. 1500s–1700s prosodia.
1. The theory and practice of versification; (in technical use) the branch of knowledge which deals with the forms of metrical composition, and formerly also with the pronunciation of words, esp. as this relates to versification; (more generally) the patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry. As a count noun: a metrical form or scheme; †a treatise on metrical composition (obsolete).Prosody was formerly regarded as a branch of grammar (see note s.v. grammar n. 1), and taken to include the study of phonology and phonetics.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > study of poetry > [noun] > prosody
prosody?a1475
orthometry1775
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > study of poetry > [noun] > prosody > treatise on
prosody?a1475
α.
β. 1582 R. Stanyhurst in tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis To Rdr. sig. Bijv I made a prosodia too my selfe squaring soomwhat from thee Latin.1586 W. Webbe Disc. Eng. Poetrie Pref. sig. B.i If English Poetrie were truely reformed, and some perfect platforme or Prosodia of versifying were..sette downe.1586 W. Webbe Disc. Eng. Poetrie sig. G.i Though our wordes can not well bee forced to abyde the touch of Position and other rules of Prosodia, yet is there such a naturall force or quantity in eche worde, that it will not abide anie place but one, without some foule disgrace.1622 H. Peacham Compl. Gentleman iii. 29 Musicians, without which Grammar is imperfect in that part of Prosodia, that dealeth onely with Meter and Rhithmicall proportions.1693 J. Dryden Examen Poeticum Ded. sig. B3v For the benefit of those who understand not the Latine Prosodia.a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. i. 447 I should as soon expect to find the Prosodia in a Comb as Poetry in a Medal.1790 B. Hampton (title) Prosodia construed: and the meaning of the most difficult words therein contained plainly illustrated.?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 178 (MED) Amonges all clerkys we bere þe prysse of gramer, cadens, and of prosodye.
c1475 Court of Sapience (Trin. Cambr.) (1927) l. 1823 (MED) Ortography..Etymology..and Prosody..serued that Science [sc. Grammar]..In wrytyng, pronowsyng and construying Of letter, sillable, worde, reason.
1580 G. Harvey Let. to Spenser in Wks. (1884) I. 76 I would gladly be acquainted with M. Drants Prosodye.
a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. i. i, in Wks. (1640) III Prosodie, and Orthography, are not parts of Grammar, but diffus'd, like the blood, and spirits through the whole.
1678 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Tmesis,..a figure of Prosody, wherein a compounded word is..divided into two parts by some other word which is interposed.
1749 J. Mason Ess. Power of Numbers & Princ. Harmony 10 There is a very wide Difference between the Latin and English Prosody. And it's in vain to think of introducing the Rules of the former into the latter; since the English Language is not so framed as to admit of it.
1795 L. Murray Eng. Gram. 146 Prosody consists of two parts; the first teaches the true pronunciation of words, comprising Accent, Quantity, Emphasis, and Cadence; and the other, the laws of versification.
1804 W. Neilson (title) Greek exercises in syntax, ellipsis, dialects, prosody, and metaphrasis.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems Pref. 17 I have bound myself to avoid certain positions forbidden by the laws of ancient prosody.
1913 New Statesman 26 July 497/2 To attempt to get through his poems in Classical Prosody is like trying to ride a bicycle over miles of newly-stoned road not yet steam-rollered.
1992 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 5 Mar. 18/4 The real subject of any Cullen poem is the rapture of the prosody he was drawn to master, the vein-thrilling possibilities of versification.
2004 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 29 Apr. 48/1 Students of prosody may think of this as ‘pure stress verse’ and trace its English origins back to Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon.
2. The correct pronunciation of words; the utterance of the sounds of a language according to prosodic rules. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > [noun] > correct pronunciation of speech sounds
pronunciation?a1475
prosody1588
voculation1656
vocalics1875
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > study of poetry > [noun] > prosody > observance of laws of
prosody1588
α.
β. 1588 W. Kempe Educ. Children f. 2 Which facultie is called Prosodia, in pronouncing of letters, syllables, and words with the mouth.1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 932 He tooke his oath another time by the name of Asclepius, which hee sounded aloft with accent in the second syllable; and although he did this upon errour in Prosodia, yet hee mainteined and proved that he had pronounced the word aright.1759 S. Fielding Hist. Countess of Dellwyn I. ii. v. 226 If th Question arose, whether the e, in Pamela, should be pronounced long or short, he had immediate Recourse to the Greek Prosodia for a Determination; scorning to be directed by the Authority of our best English Poets.1599 R. Perceval tr. J. Minsheu Spanish Gram. 10 in Dictionarie Spanish & Eng. As Orthographie handleth letters, so Prosodie treateth of syllables, and the right sounding and pronouncing the same with their true accents.
1616 J. Bullokar Eng. Expositor Prosodie, true pronouncing of wordes.
a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. i. i, in Wks. (1640) III A Letter is an indivisible part of a Syllabe, whose Prosody, or right sounding is perceiv'd by the power.
1776 G. Campbell Philos. of Rhetoric II. iii. i. 256 I suspect too, both from their prosody and from their pronunciation, that of all the languages above mentioned, the French is the least capable of that kind of imitation.
1789 Du Fresnoy Art Pronouncing French p. xviii I have placed marks..over most of the French words; which, if proper attention be paid to them, as well as the instructions on prosody, will leave no uncertainty on the pronunciation.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. v. ii. 293 She expressed herself with a purity, with a harmony and prosody that made her language like music.
1842 C. G. F. Gore Fascination 128 He heard a pure and eloquent voice recite with the most elegant and perfect prosody, these verses from the first satire of Persius.
1926 Amer. Speech 2 114/1 According to the rules both of Spanish orthography and of Spanish prosody the stress is penultimate.
3. Phonology. A suprasegmental phonological feature such as intonation and stress. Also: such features collectively; the patterns of stress and intonation in a language.In early use sometimes (as in the work of J. R. Firth (1890–1960) and his followers) applied to some features which standard phonemic theory would regard as segmental, such as palatalization, lip-rounding, and nasalization. Cf. prosodic analysis n. (b) at prosodic adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > intonation, pitch, or stress > [noun] > prosody
prosody1929
prosodics1949
1929 J. de Angulo in Language 5 117 I would like to suggest the use of the term ‘prosody’ to include all those changes which are often lumped together as accentual differences. They involve three independent factors: pitch (or tone), duration (or length, quantity), amplitude (or volume, stress, loudness, etc.).
1934 M. Swadesh in Language 10 121 The tone upon which vowels are pronounced in French belongs to the prosody of the sentence.
1949 J. R. Firth in Trans. Philol. Soc. 1948 129 We may abstract those features which mark word or syllable initials and word or syllable finals or word junctions from the word, piece, or sentence, and regard them syntagmatically as prosodies, distinct from the phonematic constituents which are referred to as units of the consonant and vowel systems.
1951 Bull. School Oriental & Afr. Stud. 13 945 The prosodies abstracted by these treatments have included not only aspiration but also, e.g. yotization, labiovelarization, rhotacization, affrication, friction, and voice.
1971 Archivum Linguisticum 2 68 In phonology, too,..the Firthian view was to reject the phoneme in favour of a syntagmatic concept, which was termed—perhaps not too happily—the ‘prosody’.
1992 ELT Jrnl. 46 110 The author presents an inaccurate and incomplete account of how attitude is (supposedly) conveyed solely or primarily by intonation, totally disregarding the role played by prosody and paralinguistic features.
2001 D. Crystal Lang. & Internet ii. 34 Chief among these properties is the domain of prosody and paralanguage—phonological terms which capture the notion of ‘it ain't what you say but the way that you say it’—as expressed through vocal variations in pitch (intonation), loudness (stress), speed, rhythm, pause, and tone of voice.
Compounds
ΚΠ
1869 J. W. Hales Compl. Wks. Spenser p. xxviii Allying himself with these Latin prosody bigots, Spenser sinned grievously against his better taste.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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