symphony

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Definitions (16)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (7)

  1. noun Music An extended piece in three or more movements for symphony orchestra.
  2. noun Music An instrumental passage in a vocal or choral composition.
  3. noun Music An instrumental overture or interlude, as in early opera.
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Examples (18)

  • The second part of the symphony is a scherzo which represents the child at play; there are terribly noisy games, games of Herculean gaiety, and you can hear the parents talking all over the house. —  Musicians of To-Day
  • No wonder the symphony was attacked by the Soviet culture goons not long after the premiere -- all that gloom and angst couldn't possibly fit in with the artistic needs and ideals of the state. —  Blog updates
  • Withdrawn for fear of offending Stalin, the symphony is at once enormous and almost suicidally tragic. —  Music news, reviews, comment and features | guardian.co.uk
  • An important offspring of the symphony was the ripieno concerto - a relatively little-explored form resembling a concerto for strings and continuo, but with no solo instruments. —  Recently Uploaded Slideshows
  • This symphony is a song of joy, ecstatic in its pure exuberance of spirits; again, it is a benediction that breathes into our minds somewhat of its own spirit of calm and content. —  Beethoven
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

opera ·  concerto ·  quartet ·  melody ·  hymn ·  chorus ·  ballet ·  concert ·  opus ·  chord ·  harmony ·  drama

Used in the same contextWord Family

symphony:   symphonies
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English symphonye, harmony, from Old French symphonie, from Latin symphōnia, from Greek sumphōniā, from sumphōnos, harmonious : sun-, syn- + phōnē, sound; see bhā-2 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Early modern English also symphonie, simphonie, simfonie; from Middle English symphonye, sinfonye, etc., from Old French symphonie, sinfonie, French symphonie = Spanish sinfonía = Portuguese symphonia = Italian sinfonia = German symphonie = Swedish Danish symfoni, from Latin symphonia, from Greek συμφωνία, a unison of sound, a concert, symphony, from σύμφωνος, agreeing in sound, harmonious, accordant, from σύν, together, + φωνή, voice, sound, tone.
 

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/ˈsɪmfəni/
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