Symphony

How to spell symphony

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce symphony

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does symphony mean?

1. nounAn elaborate musical composition for full orchestra, usually in several movements.

Symphony in a sentence

• The orchestra rehearsed the final movement of the symphony all afternoon.

• He bought tickets to hear a Beethoven symphony at the concert hall.

Where does symphony come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word comes from the Greek symphonia, meaning 'agreement of sound' or 'harmony', built from syn 'together' and phone 'sound' or 'voice'. The same phone root sits inside familiar words such as 'telephone', 'microphone', and 'phonics', which is a useful reminder that the second syllable is spelled with 'ph', not 'f'. The Greek term passed into Latin as symphonia and then into Old French as symphonie, from which English adopted it in the Middle Ages, at first for any pleasing blend of sounds or musical concord. By the 1700s, as European composers developed the large orchestral form we know today, the word narrowed to mean an extended composition for full orchestra, typically in several movements. The shift from 'sounding together' to a structured orchestral work mirrors how the prefix sym- (a form of syn-) keeps its sense of things combining as one.

How the word is built

• sym- (together)
• phon (sound, voice)
• -y (noun-forming suffix)