The Spanish word 'rima' (meaning 'rhyme') traces its origins back to the Ancient Greek word 'rhythmos' (ῥυθμός), which meant 'rhythm' or 'measured motion'. This Greek word was borrowed into Latin as 'rhythmus', keeping its meaning of 'rhythm'. The word then evolved in Occitan (a Romance language historically spoken in southern France) to 'rima' meaning 'verse', before finally entering Spanish as 'rima' with its current meaning of 'rhyme'. This semantic evolution from 'rhythm' to 'rhyme' makes sense, as both concepts are closely related to the musical and poetic patterns in language.

The Spanish word 'ritmo' (meaning 'rhythm') is a cousin of 'rima', as it comes from the same Greek root 'rhythmos' but followed a different path of development. While 'rima' evolved through Occitan and came to focus on the sound patterns at the ends of words, 'ritmo' maintained the original meaning of measured motion or beat.

English speakers can easily connect 'rima' to the English words 'rhyme' and 'rhythm', which share the same Greek ancestor 'rhythmos'. While 'rhythm' maintained the original meaning of measured motion or beat, 'rhyme' (like Spanish 'rima') developed to specifically refer to matching sounds at the ends of words. The English 'rhyme' actually underwent a spelling change - it was originally 'rime' (similar to Spanish 'rima') but was later respelled under the influence of 'rhythm'.