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sym·pho·ny
 symphony
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- pronunciation:
- sIm
f
ni
- features:
- Word History, Word Explorer, Word Parts
| part of speech: |
noun |
| inflections: |
symphonies |
| definition 1: |
A symphony is a type of musical piece that is written for a full orchestra to play. A symphony is a fairly long piece of music and is divided into three or four musical parts. You usually hear a lot of violins when you listen to a symphony. A conductor guides the orchestra when it is playing a symphony.
Some parts of a symphony are quite slow and other parts are fast. Some parts can be soft and gentle, and other parts can be loud and powerful. |
| definition 2: |
An orchestra that generally plays symphonies is often called a "symphony."
The Boston Symphony has a new conductor this year. |
| related words: |
orchestra |
Symphony comes from an ancient Greek word that means "a sounding together."
The word symphony
contains the following parts:
sym-
Greek
prefix
that means with, together with
  More about this word part:
The prefix sym-
occurs in Greek loanwords and hence attaches to Greek bases. It is an assimilated form of syn- used before roots beginning with b, p, and m, such as "bio, bi, -be", "path, patho, -pathic, -pathy", and "metr, -meter, -metry". See syn- and its other assimilated forms syl- and sys-.
Example words:
phon, phono, -phone, -phony
Greek
root
that means sound, voice
Example words:
- synonyms:
- son
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