polyphonic

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   in music, consisting of two or more independent melodic lines sounding together

   The choir maintained clarity even in the work's dense polyphonic passages.

2. 2
   adj

   containing or expressing several distinct voices, perspectives, or meanings

   The novel is polyphonic, allowing several narrators to challenge one another.

3. 3
   adj

   able to produce more than one musical note at the same time

   The early polyphonic synthesizer could sustain six notes simultaneously.

From Greek polyphonos ("many-voiced") and later poly- + -phonic, ultimately combining polys ("many") with phone ("voice, sound"). The musical sense was extended to instruments, writing, and discourse containing multiple simultaneous voices.

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