euphony en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈjuːfəni/
- (Southern-England) audio
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.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) A pronunciation of letters and syllables which is pleasing to the ear.
A correspondent of The American has taken exception to the use, in a recent paragraph in this column, of the word “electrocution.” The writer of the paragraph referred to is conscious that the word, like other etymological hybrids, lacks euphony and consistency; but during the formative period succeeding the introduction of a new idea not yet provided with a verbal exponent, the safest course is to follow general popular usage. The idea must be expressed, and the choice lies between a cumbrous word and a cumbrous sentence, the former of which seems the lesser evil. “Electrocution” has been widely used, even by scientific men, while the only plausible alternative thus far suggested—“electrothany”—though possessing the merit of unmixed ancestry, is inadequate in that it carries no penal signification.
1890 August 23, “Weekly notes”, in The American, volume 524, Robert Ellison, page 370:When I hear you speak, I hear beautiful euphony.
Mandalay. In the name there was a euphony which beckoned to the imagination, yet this was the bitter, withered reality.
1952, Norman Lewis, Golden Earth, Chapter 8:
- (countable, uncountable) The tendency to make phonetic change for ease of pronunciation.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| euphonies | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
euphonic · euphonious · euphonize
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
Relateds
euphonious · phonaesthesia · ideophone
Synonyms
harmony · concord · euphonism · consonance · euphony · unisonance · euphonism
Translations (22)
ro eufonie (pleasant phonetic quality) · de Eufonie (pleasant phonetic quality) · fi eufonia (pleasant phonetic quality) · fi eufonia (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · pt eufonia (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · cs eufonie (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · gl eufonía (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · it eufonia (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · pl eufonia (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · gl eufonía (pleasant phonetic quality) · ro eufonie (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · sq eufoni (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · cmn 諧音 /谐音 (pleasant phonetic quality) · cmn 悅耳 /悦耳 (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · hu jó/szép/kellemes hangzás (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · hu széphangzás (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · de Eufonie (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · hu eufónia (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · hu jóhangzás (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · pt eufonia (pleasant phonetic quality) · cs libozvučnost (pronunciation which is pleasing to the ear) · bg благозвучие (pleasant phonetic quality)