Etymograph

English

nonrhythmic

Nonrhythmic comes from Ancient Greek ῥυθμικός ‘set to time, rhythmical’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *srew- ‘to flow, stream’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*srew-1‘to flow, stream’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sru-dʰ-mo-s1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hrutʰmós1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῥῠθμός1rhŭthmós‘measured motion, rhythm’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῥυθμικός1rhuthmikós‘set to time, rhythmical’
  6. English1500–presentrhythmic1
  7. Englishtodaynonrhythmic1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English nonrhythmic

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*srew-Wiktionary, English nonrhythmic‘to flow, stream’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sru-dʰ-mo-sWiktionary, English nonrhythmicreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hrutʰmósWiktionary, English nonrhythmicreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῥῠθμόςWiktionary, English nonrhythmicrhŭthmós‘measured motion, rhythm’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῥυθμικόςWiktionary, English nonrhythmicrhuthmikós‘set to time, rhythmical’
  6. English1500–presentrhythmicWiktionary, English nonrhythmic
  7. EnglishtodaynonrhythmicWiktionary, English nonrhythmic

A compound of non- + rhythmic

Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos ‘one’

…

Proto-Germanic *nainaz ‘none, nought, zero’

Proto-West Germanic *nain

Old English nān ‘no, not any’

Middle English non ‘no, not any’

English non-

Proto-Indo-European *srew- ‘to flow, stream’

Proto-Indo-European *sru-dʰ-mo-s

Proto-Hellenic *hrutʰmós

Ancient Greek ῥῠθμός ‘measured motion, rhythm’

Ancient Greek ῥυθμικός ‘set to time, rhythmical’

English rhythmic

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *srew- ‘to flow, stream’

stream, maelstrom, rheumatism, rheumatic, rheumatology, hemorrhoid, rheology, 40 more

through Proto-Hellenic *hrutʰmós

arrhythmia, 29 more

through Ancient Greek ῥῠθμός ‘measured motion, rhythm’

rhythm, 28 more

through English rhythmic

rhythmical, 14 more

Today it means

adj Not having rhythm; irregular.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nonrhythmic”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *srew- / nonrhythmic

Shirt and support for this word