harmony

See also: Harmony

English

Etymology

First attested in 1602. From Middle English armonye, from Old French harmonie/armonie, from Latin harmonia, from Ancient Greek ἁρμονία (harmonía, “joint, union, agreement, concord of sounds”), either from or cognate with ἁρμόζω (harmózō, “I fit together”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to join, fit, fix together”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑɹ.mə.ni/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑː.mə.ni/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophone: hominy (god-guard merger and weak vowel merger)

Noun

harmony (countable and uncountable, plural harmonies)

1. Agreement or accord.
   • December 4 2010, Evan Thomas, "Why It’s Time to Worry", in Newsweekk

     America's social harmony has depended at least to some degree on economic growth. It is easier to get along when everyone, more or less, is getting ahead.

2. A pleasing combination of elements, or arrangement of sounds.
3. (music) The academic study of chords.
4. (music) Two or more notes played simultaneously to produce a chord.
5. (music) The relationship between two distinct musical pitches (musical pitches being frequencies of vibration which produce audible sound) played simultaneously.
6. A literary work which brings together or arranges systematically parallel passages of historians respecting the same events, and shows their agreement or consistency.

   a harmony of the Gospels

Derived terms

Derived terms

• close harmony
• disharmony
• imitative harmony

• polyharmony
• vowel harmony

Related terms

Related terms

• harmonic
• harmonics
• harmonious
• harmonize

• harmonizer
• inharmonious
• philharmonic

Translations

agreement or accord

• Arabic: اِنْسِجَام‎ m (insijām), تَوَافُق‎ m (tawāfuq), تَنَاغُم‎ m (tanāḡum)
• Armenian: ներդաշնակություն (hy) (nerdašnakutʿyun), համերաշխություն (hy) (hamerašxutʿyun)
• Belarusian: гармо́нія (be) f (harmónija)
• Bulgarian: съгла́сие (bg) n (sǎglásie), хармо́ния (bg) f (harmónija)
• Catalan: harmonia (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 和諧 (zh), 和谐 (zh) (héxié), 和睦 (zh) (hémù), 調和 (zh), 调和 (zh) (tiáohé)

• Czech: soulad (cs) m
• Dutch: samenklank (nl) m, eendracht (nl) f, overeenstemming (nl) f
• Esperanto: harmonio
• Finnish: sopusointu (fi), harmonia (fi)
• French: harmonie (fr) f
• Georgian: ჰარმონია (ka) (harmonia)
• German: Harmonie (de) f, Einklang (de) m
• Greek: αρμονία (el) f (armonía), αρμονικότητα (el) (armonikótita)

  Ancient: ἁρμονία f (harmonía), συμφωνία f (sumphōnía)

• Icelandic: jafnvægi (is) n, samlyndi (is) n, samræmi (is) n

• Indonesian: keselarasan (id)
• Italian: armonia (it) f
• Japanese: 調和 (ja) (ちょうわ, chōwa)
• Korean: 조화 (ko) (johwa)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاھەنگ‎ (ku) (aheng)

• Latvian: harmonija f, saskaņa f
• Lithuanian: darna f, harmonija (lt) f
• Macedonian: хармонија f (harmonija), слога f (sloga)
• Norman: harmonie f
• Portuguese: harmonia (pt) f
• Romanian: armonie (ro) f
• Russian: созву́чие (ru) n (sozvúčije), согла́сие (ru) n (soglásije), гармо́ния (ru) f (garmónija)
• Sanskrit: please add this translation if you can
• Scottish Gaelic: rèite f, rèiteachadh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: sazvučje (sh) n, sklad (sh) m, skladnost (sh) f, harmonija (sh) f

• Slovak: súlad m
• Spanish: armonía (es)
• Swedish: sämja (sv) c
• Ukrainian: гармо́нія (uk) f (harmónija)
• Westrobothnian: semd f

pleasing combination of elements, or arrangement of sounds

• Armenian: ներդաշնակություն (hy) (nerdašnakutʿyun)
• Bulgarian: хармо́ния (bg) f (harmónija), съзву́чие (bg) n (sǎzvúčie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 諧和 (zh), 谐和 (zh) (xiéhé), 和諧 (zh), 和谐 (zh) (héxié)

• Czech: soulad (cs) m, harmonie (cs) f
• Esperanto: harmonio
• Finnish: sopusointu (fi), harmonia (fi)
• French: harmonie (fr) f
• German: Harmonie (de) f, Wohlklang (de) m
• Greek: αρμονία (el) f (armonía)

  Ancient: ἁρμονία f (harmonía), συμφωνία f (sumphōnía)

• Icelandic: samhljómur (is) m
• Italian: armonia (it) f
• Japanese: 調和 (ja) (ちょうわ, chōwa)
• Korean: 조화 (ko) (johwa)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاھەنگ‎ (ku) (aheng)

• Latin: concentio f
• Manx: cochiaull
• Maori: reretahi, reo niko
• Norwegian: harmoni (no) m
• Persian: هارمونی‎ (fa) (hârmoni)
• Portuguese: harmonia (pt) f
• Romanian: armonie (ro) f
• Russian: гармо́ния (ru) f (garmónija)
• Sanskrit: please add this translation if you can
• Scottish Gaelic: co-cheòl m, co-fhuaim m, co-sheirm f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: sazvučje (sh) n, sklad (sh) m, skladnost (sh) f, saglasje (sh) n

• Slovene: sozvočje n, harmonija f
• Swedish: harmoni (sv) c
• Thai: ^{(please verify)} ความสามัคคี (th) (kwaam-sǎa-mák-kii)
• Turkish: armoni (tr), uyum (tr), ahenk (tr)

music: the academic study of chords

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: хармо́ния (bg) f (harmónija)
• Catalan: harmonia (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 和聲學 (zh), 和声学 (zh) (héshēngxué)

• Czech: harmonie (cs) f
• Finnish: sointuoppi
• French: harmonie (fr) f
• German: Harmonie (de) f, Harmonielehre (de) f
• Greek: αρμονία (el) f (armonía)
• Hungarian: összhangzattan (hu)
• Icelandic: hljómfræði f

• Irish: armóin f
• Italian: armonia (it) f
• Japanese: 和声学 (わせいがく, waseigaku)
• Latin: concentio f
• Portuguese: harmonia (pt) f
• Romanian: armonie (ro) f
• Russian: гармо́ния (ru) f (garmónija)
• Scottish Gaelic: co-sheirm f
• Spanish: armonía (es) f
• Swedish: harmonilära c
• Turkish: armoni (tr)

music: two or more notes played simultaneously to produce a chord

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 和聲 (zh), 和声 (zh) (heshēng), 哈默妮 (hāmònī)

• Dutch: samenklank (nl) m, harmonie (nl) f
• Finnish: sointu (fi)
• German: Harmonie (de) f
• Greek: αρμονία (el) f (armonía), συγχορδία (el) f (synchordía)
• Hungarian: akkord (hu)
• Icelandic: samhljómur (is) m
• Irish: armóin f
• Italian: armonia (it) f
• Japanese: ハーモニー (hāmonī), 和声 (ja) (わせい, wasei)

• Korean: 화성 (ko) (hwaseong)
• Manx: cochiaull
• Maori: reo niko
• Portuguese: acorde (pt) m
• Romanian: armonie (ro) f
• Russian: гармо́ния (ru) f (garmónija), созву́чие (ru) n (sozvúčije), акко́рд (ru) m (akkórd)
• Sanskrit: please add this translation if you can
• Scottish Gaelic: co-sheirm f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: sazvučje (sh) n

• Slovene: sozvočje n, harmonija f
• Swedish: ackord (sv) n
• Turkish: armoni (tr)

Further reading

• “harmony” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “harmony” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.