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”). Doublet of harmonia.

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)məni
• Homophone: hominy (non-rhotic, father-bother merger, 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.
   • 2012 December 21, Hermann Hesse, Gertrude: A Novel‎^[1], Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, →OCLC:

     I did not know anything more about music,only about finger exercises, difficult tasks, contradictions in the theory of harmony, and tedious piano lessons from a sarcastic teacher who saw in my  […]

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

• close harmony
• disharmony
• harmonist
• harmony of the spheres
• imitative harmony
• negative harmony
• polyharmony
• poly-harmony
• preestablished harmony
• pre-established harmony
• 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) (nerdašnakutʻyun), համերաշխություն (hy) (hamerašxutʻyun), հարմոնիա (hy) (harmonia)
• Belarusian: гармо́нія (be) f (harmónija), зго́да f (zhóda)
• Bulgarian: съгла́сие (bg) n (sǎglásie), хармо́ния (bg) f (harmónija)
• Catalan: harmonia (ca) f
• Chinese:

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

• Czech: soulad (cs) m
• Dutch: samenklank (nl) m, eendracht (nl) f, overeenstemming (nl) f
• Esperanto: harmonio
• Estonian: kooskõla, harmoonia
• Finnish: sopusointu (fi), harmonia (fi)
• French: harmonie (fr) f
• Galician: harmonía (gl) 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)
• Irish: síth f
• Italian: armonia (it) f
• Japanese: 調和 (ja) (ちょうわ, chōwa)
• Korean: 조화(調和) (ko) (johwa)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاھەنگ (ckb) (aheng)

• Latvian: harmonija f, saskaņa f
• Lithuanian: darna f, harmonija (lt) f
• Macedonian: хармонија f (harmonija), слога f (sloga)
• Norman: harmonie f
• Old English: efnheorte f
• Polish: zgoda (pl) f
• Portuguese: harmonia (pt) f
• Romanian: armonie (ro) f
• Russian: созву́чие (ru) n (sozvúčije), согла́сие (ru) n (soglásije), гармо́ния (ru) f (garmónija)
• Sanskrit: राग (sa) m (rāga), संधि (sa) m (saṃdhi), ऐक्य (sa) m (aikya)
• Scottish Gaelic: rèite f, rèiteachadh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: са́звӯчје n, скла̏д m, скла̏дно̄ст f, ха̀рмо̄нија f

  Roman: sázvūčje (sh) n, sklȁd (sh) m, sklȁdnōst (sh) f, hàrmōnija (sh) f

• Slovak: súlad m
• Spanish: armonía (es)
• Swedish: sämja (sv) c
• Ukrainian: гармо́нія (uk) f (harmónija), зго́да f (zhóda)
• Vietnamese: điều hoà (vi), hài hoà (vi), hoà thuận (vi)

pleasing combination of elements, or arrangement of sounds

• Armenian: ներդաշնակություն (hy) (nerdašnakutʻyun), հարմոնիա (hy) (harmonia)
• Belarusian: гармо́нія (be) f (harmónija), сугу́чча n (suhúčča), сугу́чнасць f (suhúčnascʹ)
• Bulgarian: хармо́ния (bg) f (harmónija), съзву́чие (bg) n (sǎzvúčie)
• Chinese:

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

• Czech: soulad (cs) m, harmonie (cs) f
• Esperanto: harmonio
• Estonian: kooskõla, harmoonia
• Finnish: sopusointu (fi), harmonia (fi)
• French: harmonie (fr) f
• Galician: harmonía (gl) f
• Georgian: ჰარმონია (ka) (harmonia)
• German: Harmonie (de) f, Wohlklang (de) m
• Greek: αρμονία (el) f (armonía)

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

• Icelandic: samhljómur (is) m
• Irish: comhréiteach m, comhchuibheacht f, comhtheacht m, armóin f
• Italian: armonia (it) f
• Japanese: 調和 (ja) (ちょうわ, chōwa), 和声 (ja) (わせい, wasei)
• Korean: 조화(調和) (ko) (johwa)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاھەنگ (ckb) (aheng)

• Latin: concentio f
• Macedonian: хармонија f (harmonija)
• Manx: cochiaull
• Maori: reretahi, reo niko
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: harmoni (no) m

• Persian: هارمونی (fa) (hârmoni)
• Polish: harmonia (pl) f
• Portuguese: harmonia (pt) f
• Romanian: armonie (ro) f
• Russian: гармо́ния (ru) f (garmónija), созву́чие (ru) n (sozvúčije)
• Sanskrit: please add this translation if you can
• Scottish Gaelic: co-cheòl m, co-fhuaim m, co-sheirm f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: са́звӯчје n, скла̏д m, скла̏дно̄ст f, сагласје n

  Roman: sázvūčje (sh) n, sklȁd (sh) m, sklȁdnōst (sh) f, saglasje (sh) n

• Slovak: súlad m, harmónia f
• 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)
• Ukrainian: гармо́нія (uk) f (harmónija), співзву́ччя n (spivzvúččja), співзву́чність f (spivzvúčnistʹ)
• Vietnamese: hài hoà (vi) (諧和)

music: the academic study of chords

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

  Mandarin: 和聲學／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)
• Korean: 화성학(和聲學) (hwaseonghak)
• Latin: concentio f
• Polish: harmonia (pl) f
• Portuguese: harmonia (pt) f
• Romanian: armonie (ro) f
• Russian: гармо́ния (ru) f (garmónija)
• Scottish Gaelic: co-sheirm f
• Slovak: harmónia f
• Spanish: armonía (es) f
• Swedish: harmonilära c
• Turkish: armoni (tr)
• Ukrainian: гармо́нія (uk) f (harmónija)

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

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

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

• Czech: harmonie (cs) f
• Dutch: samenklank (nl) m, harmonie (nl) f
• Estonian: harmoonia
• Finnish: sointu (fi)
• French: harmonie (fr) f
• 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(和聲) (ko) (hwaseong)
• Latvian: harmonija f
• Lithuanian: harmonija (lt) f
• Macedonian: хармонија f (harmonija)
• Manx: cochiaull
• Maori: reo niko
• Polish: harmonia (pl) f
• 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:

  Cyrillic: са́звӯчје n, ха̀рмо̄нија f

  Roman: sázvūčje (sh) n, hàrmōnija (sh) f

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

Further reading

• “harmony”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “harmony”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.