homophony

C2 Topic:Communication
US /həˈmɑfəni/ UK /həˈmɒfəni/
noun

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    the relation or quality of words having the same pronunciation but different meanings or origins

    Mnemic homophony combines several similar memory images into one generalized pattern.

  2. 2
    noun

    a musical texture in which one melodic line predominates over accompanying parts

    The hymn's homophony lets the congregation sing the melody together.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · the relation or quality of... same-sound relationhomophonousness
2 noun · a musical texture in which... chordal texture
Opposites
polyphonyheterophony
Word family
Forms homophonic
Derived forms homophonichomophonically
Related forms homophonehomophonouspolyphony

Etymology

From French homophonie and Ancient Greek homophonia ("unison, agreement of sound"), from homos ("same") + phone ("voice, sound"). The linguistic and musical senses both retain the idea of sounding together or alike.

Topics

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