A rhyming dictionary is a specialized

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged Alphabetical order, alphabetically (or by Semitic root, consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical-and-stroke sorting, radical an ...

designed for use in writing

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

and

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

. In a rhyming dictionary, words are categorized into

equivalence class In mathematics, when the elements of some set S have a notion of equivalence (formalized as an equivalence relation), then one may naturally split the set S into equivalence classes. These equivalence classes are constructed so that elements ...

es that consist of words that

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually the exact same phonemes) in the final Stress (linguistics), stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of rhyming (''perfect rhyming'') is consciou ...

with one another. They also typically support several different kinds of rhymes and possibly also

alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a literary device. A common example is " Pe ...

as well. Because rhyming dictionaries are based on

pronunciation Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. To This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or all language in a specific dialect—"correct" or "standard" pronunciation—or si ...

, they are difficult to compile. Words and rhyming patterns change their pronunciation over time and between

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

s. Rhyming dictionaries for

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

, Elizabethan poetry, or

Standard English In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone codification to the point of being socially perceived as the standard language, associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and off ...

would have quite different content. Rhyming dictionaries are invaluable for

historical linguistics Historical linguistics, also known as diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of how languages change over time. It seeks to understand the nature and causes of linguistic change and to trace the evolution of languages. Historical li ...

; as they record pronunciation, they can be used to reconstruct pronunciation differences and similarities that are not reflected in spelling. A simple

reverse dictionary A reverse dictionary is a dictionary alphabetized by the reversal of each entry: :stock (kcots) :diestock (kcotseid) :restock (kcotser) :livestock (kcotsevil) Before computers, reverse dictionaries were tedious to produce. The first computer-pro ...

, which collates words starting from the end, provides a rough rhyming dictionary to the extent that spelling follows pronunciation. However, a precise rhyming dictionary reflects pronunciation, not spelling. Today, there are many

websites A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, education ...

on the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

that provide the same function as rhyming dictionaries.

Examples

Rhyme Genie Rhyme Genie is a rhyming dictionary software developed by Idolumic for the Mac OS X, iOS and Microsoft Windows platforms. Initially released in 2009 it was introduced as the world's first dynamic rhyming dictionary with 30 different rhyme types, 3 ...

* Walker's Rhyming Dictionary

External links

Rhymes generator
Online rhyme generator for English and German (Types of rhyme: perfect rhymes, general rhymes,

assonance Assonance is the repetition of identical or similar phonemes in words or syllables that occur close together, either in terms of their vowel phonemes (e.g., ''lean green meat'') or their consonant phonemes (e.g., ''Kip keeps capes ''). However, in ...

and pararehyme)
Rhyme dictionary
Rhyme generator with perfect and near rhymes
Rhyme finder
Rhyme finder with similar syllables
SearchRhymes.com
Simple English Rhyming Dictionary

References

Rhyme Dictionaries by type {{Poetry-stub

Examples

See also

External links

References