prosody

/ˈpɹɒzədi/

//ˈpɹɒzədi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"prosody" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prosody” is uncommon English (frequency #67,752 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,752
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The study of rhythm, intonation, stress, and related attributes in speech.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prosody · prosody · English

prosody · rank #67,752 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,752
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH promulgate

Nearest frequency peer: promulgate (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “prosody”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “prosody” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for prosody
PropertyValue
Headwordprosody
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɹɒzədi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#67,752
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “prosody” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).prosodyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “promulgate” (#67,751), “proteolytic” (#67,753), “profuse” (#67,750). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prosody” is #67,752. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

prosody is uncommon English at frequency #67,752 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɹɒzədi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for prosody in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French prosodie, from Latin prosōdia, from Ancient Greek προσῳδία (prosōidía, “song sung to music; pronunciation of syllable”), from πρός (prós, “to”) + ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”). The correct English form is prosody, spelled P-R-O-S-O-D-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The study of rhythm, intonation, stress, and related attributes in speech.
  2. 2
    The study of poetic meter; the patterns of sounds and rhythms in verse.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how prosody appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. An accurate acquaintance with the Prosody and Metres of the Greek Language is so necessary an accompaniment of true scholarship, that any attempt to advocate its claims to the notice of the student would be entirely superfluous.
  2. The aim of this book is to answer the question WHAT DID GREEK PROSODY SOUND LIKE? The study of prosody stands at the intersection of a number of quite disparate disciplines, as illustrated in the diagram overleaf.

Etymology

From Middle French prosodie, from Latin prosōdia, from Ancient Greek προσῳδία (prosōidía, “song sung to music; pronunciation of syllable”), from πρός (prós, “to”) + ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”).

This word in other languages

prosodia(Español)prosodie(Français)Prosodie(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "prosody"?
"prosody" is spelled P-R-O-S-O-D-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹɒzədi/.
What does "prosody" mean?
As a noun, "prosody" means: The study of rhythm, intonation, stress, and related attributes in speech.
How do you pronounce "prosody"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prosody" is /ˈpɹɒzədi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "prosody"?
From Middle French prosodie, from Latin prosōdia, from Ancient Greek προσῳδία (prosōidía, “song sung to music; pronunciation of syllable”), from πρός (prós, “to”) + ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "prosody", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

profuse#67,750prudish#67,754pitstop#67,736rasping#67,776

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list