symphonic

Etymology

It is formed from English symphony + -ic,^[2][3][4][5] after harmonic.^[2][6] Etymonline adds that it may in some cases come from French symphonique, and compares Ancient Greek συμφωνικός (sumphōnikós),^[3] from which Klein derives it.^[7] Symphony is from Old French simphonie, from Latin symphōnia, from Ancient Greek συμφωνία (sumphōnía, “agreement or concord of sound”),^[2][3][7] from σύμφωνος (súmphōnos, “agreeing in sound”), formed from σύν (sún) and φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”).^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Welsh prosody, involving similarity of sound: 1856, in J. Williams's translation of the Ancient Grammar of Edeyrn.^[2] Etymonline finds the sense "involving similarity of sounds or harmony" implied in symphonically in 1854,^[3] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the sense "harmonious" to 1774.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The first uses were technical and are now rare: similarity of sound in verse (1856), words pronounced alike, a synonym of homophonous (1880, in J. A. H. Murray), and a shorthand sign standing for more than one sound (1904).^[2][6] The musical sense, of or having the form of a symphony, and the sense "harmonious" both appear first in Webster's dictionary of 1864.^[2][3] The musical sense became the main one, and was extended to poetry and other things suggestive of a symphony in form or in the interweaving of themes, as a symphonic novel.^[2][4] Before the adjective, English had used symphonious, harmonious, from the 1650s.^[3]

Timeline

• 1774 – harmonious, relating to harmony of sound.^[4]
• 1856 – in Welsh prosody, involving similarity of sound.^[2]
• 1864 – of or having the character of a symphony.^[2][3]
• 1880 – having the same sound; homophonous.^[2]
• 1904 – of a shorthand sign, standing for more than one sound.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of, relating to, or having the form or character of a symphony: a symphonic composer.^[4][2][9]
2. Suggestive of a symphony, as in complexity or the interweaving of themes: a symphonic saga spanning four generations.^[4][2]
3. Relating to harmony of sound; harmonious.^[4][2]
4. (rare) Having the same sound; homophonous.^[2][6]

Word family

• symphonically
• nonsymphonic
• symphonic poem

Related words

• symphony
• symphonious
• phone
• phonetic
• euphony

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins