sym·pho·ny

(sĭm′fə-nē)

n. pl. sym·pho·nies

1. Music

a. An extended piece in three or more movements for symphony orchestra.

b. An instrumental passage in a vocal or choral composition.

c. An instrumental overture or interlude, as in early opera.

2. Music

a. A symphony orchestra.

b. An orchestral concert.

3. Harmony, especially of sound or color.

4. Something characterized by a harmonious combination of elements.

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

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

symphony

(ˈsɪmfənɪ)

n, pl -nies

1. (Classical Music) an extended large-scale orchestral composition, usually with several movements, at least one of which is in sonata form. The classical form of the symphony was fixed by Haydn and Mozart, but the innovations of subsequent composers have freed it entirely from classical constraints. It continues to be a vehicle for serious, large-scale orchestral music

2. (Classical Music) a piece of instrumental music in up to three very short movements, used as an overture to or interlude in a baroque opera

3. (Classical Music) any purely orchestral movement in a vocal work, such as a cantata or oratorio

4. (Classical Music) short for symphony orchestra

5. (Classical Music) (in musical theory, esp of classical Greece)

a. another word for consonance³ Compare diaphony²

b. the interval of unison

6. anything distinguished by a harmonious composition: the picture was a symphony of green.

7. archaic harmony in general; concord

[C13: from Old French symphonie, from Latin symphōnia concord, concert, from Greek sumphōnia, from syn- + phōnē sound]

symphonic adj

symˈphonically adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sym•pho•ny

(ˈsɪm fə ni)

n., pl. -nies.

a. an extended sonatalike musical composition for large orchestra.

b. ritornello.

2. symphony orchestra.

3. a concert performed by a symphony orchestra.

4. anything characterized by a harmonious combination of elements, esp. an effective combination of colors.

5. harmony of sounds.

6. Archaic. agreement; concord.

[1250–1300; Middle English symfonye < Old French symphonie < Latin symphōnia concert < Greek symphōnía harmony. See sym-, -phony]

Symphony

a collection of sounds; a chorus; a collection of musical sounds or attractive colours, 1874.

Examples: symphony of colour, 1874; of commendations, 1654; of laughter, 1713; of the ocean, 1849.

symphony

An extended orchestral work, usually in four movements.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	symphony - a long and complex sonata for symphony orchestra symphonic music sonata - a musical composition of 3 or 4 movements of contrasting forms
	2.	symphony - a large orchestra; can perform symphonies; "we heard the Vienna symphony" philharmonic, symphony orchestra orchestra - a musical organization consisting of a group of instrumentalists including string players

symphony

noun

Pleasing agreement, as of musical sounds:

accord, concert, concord, harmony, tune.

Music: consonance.

Translations

سِيمْفُونِيَّة

symfonie

symfoni

sinfonia

simfonija

szimfónia

sinfónía

sinfonia sinfonico

交響曲

교향곡

simfonijasimfoninis

simfonijasimfōnija

symfónia

simfonija

symfoni

เพลงสำหรับวงดนตรีประสานเสียงขนาดใหญ่

senfoni

nhạc giao hưởng

交响乐交响曲

symphony

[ˈsɪmfənɪ]

A. N → sinfonía f

B. CPD symphony orchestra N → orquesta f sinfónica

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

symphony

[ˈsɪmfəni] n → symphonie fsymphony orchestra n → orchestre m symphonique

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

symphony

n → Sinfonie f, → Symphonie f; a symphony of colours (liter) → eine Sinfonie von Farben, eine Farbensinfonie

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

symphony

[ˈsɪmfənɪ] n → sinfonia

symphony

(ˈsimfəni) – plural ˈsymphonies – noun

a usually long piece of music for an orchestra of many different instruments, in three or four movements or parts.

symˈphonic (-ˈfo-) adjective

symphony

→ سِيمْفُونِيَّة symfonie symfoni Sinfonie συμφωνία sinfonía sinfonia symphonie simfonija sinfonia 交響曲 교향곡 symfonie symfoni symfonia sinfonia симфония symfoni เพลงสำหรับวงดนตรีประสานเสียงขนาดใหญ่ senfoni nhạc giao hưởng 交响乐

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

It will be generally admitted that Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is the most sublime noise that has ever penetrated into the ear of man.

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Monsieur Ratignolle stared a little, and turned to ask Mademoiselle Reisz if she considered the symphony concerts up to the standard which had been set the previous winter.

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In this book it is rather the cheerful aspect of summer, those upland valleys of the Cevennes presenting then a symphony in red, so to call it--as in a land of cherries and goldfinches; and he has a genial power certainly of making you really feel the sun on the backs of the two boys out early for a long ramble, of old peasants resting themselves a little, with spare enjoyment, ere the end:--

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One of us compared the harmony existing between a Haydn symphony and pistache ice cream to the exquisite congruity between Milly and Cypher's.

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What was the overture to Guillaume Tell but a symphony under another name?

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It was a distinct yet distant and dreamlike symphony of melodious instruments, as if an airy band had been hidden on the hillside and made faint music at the summons.

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I blessed my specialist, I blessed Squire Rattray, I blessed the very villains who had brought us within each other's ken; and nowhere was my thanksgiving more fervent than in the deep cleft threaded by the beck; for here the shrewd yet gentle wind passed completely overhead, and the silence was purged of oppression by the ceaseless symphony of clear water running over clean stones.

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Casaubon, or rather from the symphony of hopeful dreams, admiring trust, and passionate self devotion which that learned gentleman had set playing in her soul.

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There was no false note to jar the symphony. Anne felt that she ought to be thrilling from head to foot.

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"Yes, you darling old Goth, a symphony by the great Beethoven!" added Magdalen.

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He gives us often the blaring music of a military band or the loud, swelling volume of an organ, but very seldom the softer tones of a violin or symphony.

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Broad mirth, in the sacred presence of dark misfortune, would have jarred harshly and irreverently with the solemn symphony that rolled its undertone through Hepzibah's and her brother's life.

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