polyphony
Americannoun
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Music. polyphonic composition; counterpoint.
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Phonetics. representation of different sounds by the same letter or symbol.
noun
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polyphonic style of composition or a piece of music utilizing it
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the use of polyphones in a writing system
Other Word Forms
- polyphonous adjective
- polyphonously adverb
Etymology
Origin of polyphony
First recorded in 1820–30, polyphony is from the Greek word polyphōnía variety of tones. See poly-, -phony
Vocabulary lists containing polyphony
Common Senses: Phon ("Sound")
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Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The children have their own afflictions, as does the husband-to-be, all shared in a polyphony of severed tongues.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2023
Later, polyphony became increasingly common – when two, three or four voices would each sing different melodies, adding to the complexity of the sound.
From Salon • Oct. 22, 2022
Soon the others start to sing, too, their voices overlapping to create a rapturous polyphony.
From Scientific American • May 23, 2022
By constructing his narrative as a novel-in-stories — a set of loosely connected tales about characters whose lives often intersect only obliquely — he’s able to achieve a sophisticated polyphony.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 27, 2022
Polyphonic music can also be called polyphony, counterpoint, or contrapuntal music.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
