harmony

[ hahr-muh-nee ]

noun

, plural har·mo·nies.

1. agreement; accord; harmonious relations.

   Synonyms: friendship, amity, peace, unity, concord

2. a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity.

   Synonyms: consonance, consistency, correspondence, conformity

3. Music.
   1. any simultaneous combination of tones.
   2. the simultaneous combination of tones, especially when blended into chords pleasing to the ear; chordal structure, as distinguished from melody and rhythm.
   3. the science of the structure, relations, and practical combination of chords.
4. an arrangement of the contents of the Gospels, either of all four or of the first three, designed to show their parallelism, mutual relations, and differences.

harmony

/ ˈhɑːmənɪ /

noun

1. agreement in action, opinion, feeling, etc; accord
2. order or congruity of parts to their whole or to one another
3. agreeable sounds
4. music
   1. any combination of notes sounded simultaneously
   2. the vertically represented structure of a piece of music Compare melody rhythm
   3. the art or science concerned with the structure and combinations of chords
5. a collation of the material of parallel narratives, esp of the four Gospels

harmony

1. The sounding of two or more musical notes at the same time in a way that is pleasant or desired. Harmony, melody, and rhythm are elements of music.

Other Words From

• non·harmo·ny noun plural nonharmonies
• pre·harmo·ny noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of harmony¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English armonye, from Middle French, from Latin harmonia, from Greek harmonía “joint, framework, agreement, harmony,” akin to hárma “chariot,” harmós “joint,” ararískein “to join together”

Word History and Origins

Origin of harmony¹

C14: from Latin harmonia concord of sounds, from Greek: harmony, from harmos a joint

Synonym Study

See symmetry. Harmony, melody in music suggest a combination of sounds from voices or musical instruments. Harmony is the blending of simultaneous sounds of different pitch or quality, making chords: harmony in part singing; harmony between violins and horns. Melody is the rhythmical combination of successive sounds of various pitch, making up the tune or air: a tuneful melody to accompany cheerful words.

Example Sentences

The way the documentary finds harmony between the humor of the characters’ unexpected behavior and the sensitive issues it tackles struck Danson and Schur.

From Los Angeles Times

At around 06:30 GMT, astronauts emerge from the phone-booth size sleeping quarter in the ISS module called Harmony.

From BBC

Those voices won’t necessarily sing in harmony.

From Salon

But they are not exactly a nest of birds singing in perfect harmony.

From BBC

Obviously living in New York, you always would see his name and I never was interested in that stuff, but as my art grew and then I saw this documentary, I was able to relate that there’s so much in a music melody and a music harmony, but there’s much in body movement.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• conformity
• consensus
• consistency
• cooperation
• friendship
• good will
• kinship
• peace
• rapport
• tranquility
• unanimity
• understanding
• unity