symphony: [13] Symphony originally meant ‘harmony’; it was not used for a ‘large-scale piece of orchestral music in several movements’ until the late 18th century. The word came via Old French symphonie and Latin symphōnia from Greek sumphōníā, a derivative of súmphōnos ‘harmonious’. This was a compound adjective formed from the prefix sun- ‘together’ and phōné ‘sound’ (source of English phone, phonetic, etc). => phone, phonetic
symphony (n.)
c. 1300, a name given to various types of musical instruments, from Old French simphonie, sifonie, simfone "musical harmony; stringed instrument" (12c., Modern French symphonie) and directly from Latin symphonia "a unison of sounds, harmony," from Greek symphonia "harmony, concord of sounds," from symphonos "harmonious, agreeing in sound," from assimilated form of syn- "together" (see syn-) + phone "voice, sound," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)).
Meaning "harmony of sounds" in English is attested from late 14c.; sense of "music in parts" is from 1590s. "It was only after the advent of Haydn that this word began to mean a sonata for full orchestra. Before that time it meant a prelude, postlude, or interlude, or any short instrumental work." ["Elson's Music Dictionary"] Meaning "elaborate orchestral composition" first attested 1789. Elliptical for "symphony orchestra" from 1926. Diminutive symphonette is recorded from 1947.
双语例句
1. The symphony does require a largish group of players.
这首交响曲确实需要为数不少的一组演奏者。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The Lithuanian Philharmonic Orchestra played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
