Harmonic

How to spell harmonic

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce harmonic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does harmonic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to musical harmony, or to the regular frequencies and vibrations studied in physics and mathematics.
2. nounA tone or frequency that is a whole-number multiple of a fundamental frequency.

Harmonic in a sentence

• adjective

  The engineer measured the harmonic distortion in the amplifier output.

• noun

  The violinist touched the string lightly to sound a clear harmonic.

• adjective

  The choir produced a rich harmonic blend across all four parts.

• noun

  The power supply generated an unwanted harmonic that interfered with the radio.

Where does harmonic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek harmonia, which meant a joining, an agreement, or a concord of sounds, and which itself grew from the verb harmozein 'to fit together' and the noun harmos 'a joint'. The ancient sense was strongly physical: a harmonia was literally something fitted neatly together, like the joints of a ship's planks, before it became the musical idea of notes that agree. Latin took the word as harmonicus, and it passed into English through French in the seventeenth century, first describing musical concord and later the precise mathematical ratios behind musical tones. From there science borrowed it for any regular, evenly spaced vibration, giving us the physicist's harmonics and the harmonic series in mathematics. The steady -monic ending and the single m are the easy traps; remembering the shared root in 'harmony' helps keep the spelling straight.

How the word is built

• harmon- (from Greek harmonia: agreement, concord)
• -ic (adjective/noun suffix)