English Explanatory Dictionary

euphony

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A pronunciation of letters and syllables which is pleasing to the ear.
  2. The tendency to make phonetic change for ease of pronunciation.

Pronunciation

/ˈjuːfəni/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-euphony.wav

Word forms

euphony euphonies

Etymology

From French euphonie, from Ancient Greek εὐφωνία (euphōnía), from εὐ- (eu-, prefix meaning ‘good, well’) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound; (human) voice; discourse, speech”) (from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to say, speak”)) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). The English word is analysable as eu- + -phony.

Synonyms

concord consonance euphonism euphony harmony unisonance

Antonyms

cacophony

Related words

ideophone phonaesthesia euphonious

Derived words

euphonic euphonious euphonize

Translations

Bulgarian: благозвучие Chinese Mandarin: 諧音 /谐音 Finnish: eufonia Galician: eufonía German: Eufonie Portuguese: eufonia Romanian: eufonie
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