Philharmonic

How to spell philharmonic

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce philharmonic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does philharmonic mean?

1. adjectiveDevoted to music, especially as used in the names of orchestras and concert societies.
2. nounAn orchestra or musical society dedicated to performing classical music.

Philharmonic in a sentence

• adjective

  The philharmonic orchestra rehearsed the symphony for three hours.

• noun

  He has played first violin in the philharmonic for over a decade.

• adjective

  Tickets for the philharmonic society's autumn season sold out within days.

• noun

  The city's philharmonic performs at the new concert hall on weekends.

Where does philharmonic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word is built from two Greek elements: phil-, meaning 'loving' or 'fond of', and harmonia, meaning 'a fitting together' or 'harmony', which itself came from harmos, a 'joint' or 'fastening'. Put together the parts literally describe something 'loving harmony', and the word arose in the 1700s as orchestral and concert societies across Europe began naming themselves to advertise their devotion to music. It reached English through Italian and French musical circles, where philharmonic societies were fashionable, and the spelling kept its Greek look with the ph standing for the f sound. The same phil- root that means 'loving' also opens familiar words such as philosophy (love of wisdom) and philanthropy (love of humankind), while harmonia survives in harmony and harmonica. Remembering that the word joins 'love' to 'harmony' explains both halves of the spelling and the silent-looking ph at the front.

How the word is built

• phil- (Greek: loving)
• harmon (Greek harmonia: harmony)
• -ic (adjective suffix)