pros·o·dy / ˈpräsədē/ • n. the patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry: the translator is not obliged to reproduce the prosody of the original. ∎  the theory or study of these patterns, or the rules governing them. ∎  the patterns of stress and intonation in a language: the salience of prosody in child language acquisition | early English prosodies. DERIVATIVES: pro·sod·ic / prəˈsädik; -zädik/ orpro·sod·i·cal / prəˈsädikəl; -ˈzäd-/ adj.pros·o·dist / ˈpräsədist; ˈpräz-/ n.

prosody XV. — L. prosōdia accent of a syllable — Gr. prosōidíā song sung to music, tone of a syllable, f. prós to + ōidḗ song, ODE; see -Y3.