Polyrhythmic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Involving the coordination of multiple contrasting rhythmic patterns played together at the same time in musical composition
2. Pertaining to a musical approach that intertwines various rhythmic structures to create complexity and depth
3. Featuring the use of different rhythms played simultaneously to create intricate sound patterns

Etymology: Polyrhythmic is a plainly built modern English word, assembled from two Greek-derived pieces and an adjectival ending. The first part, "poly-", comes from the Ancient Greek "polús," meaning "many" or "much," and it has been used in English as a combining form for centuries. The second part comes from the Greek "rhythmós," meaning "measured flow" or "rhythm," which passed into Latin as "rhythmus" before English borrowed it. The word is built in two steps. "Polyrhythm" combines "poly-" with "rhythm" to name the layering of several rhythmic patterns at once, and the suffix "-ic," which descends from the Latin "-icus" and reached English through Old French and Middle English, turns that noun into an adjective describing such music. Nothing in its making is a pun or a mistake; it is an ordinary coinage that follows the pattern of many English words built from Greek and Latin parts.

Synonyms: complex, multirhythmic, syncopated, interlocking, layered

Antonyms: monorhythmic, simple, unvaried, straightforward, uniform