| dysprosody |
| Definition: A speech impairment that causes you to lose control of intonation and rhythm. |
| Etymology: The word was coined by combining the prefix dys — which means bad, ill, or abnormal — with the word prosody. The latter derives from the Greek prosoidia, song sung to music (from pros, to + oide, song or poem). Thus, etymology-wise, the term (sort of) means "bad singing." |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The word's first OED citation is from 1947: "(heading) Dysprosody, or altered ‘Melody of Language’." (G. H. Monrad-Krohn in Brain LXX. 405) |