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Origin and history of symphony

symphony(n.)

c. 1300, simphonie, 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 symphōnia "harmony, concord of sounds," from symphōnos "harmonious, agreeing in sound," from assimilated form of syn- "together" (see syn-) + phōnē "voice, sound" (from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say").

The original sense is obsolete; it was applied to everything from a small hurdy-gurdy to a bagpipe to a drum; a player on one was a symphoner. The meaning "pleasing combination of sounds, consonance agreeable to the ear, harmonic singing" in English is attested from late 14c.

The sense of "music in parts" is from 1590s. The meaning "elaborate orchestral composition in three or more movements" is attested from 1789.

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"]

Elliptical for symphony orchestra from 1926. Diminutive symphonette is recorded from 1947.

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to symphony

sinfonia(n.)

1773, "overture to an Italian opera;" by 1828 in English as the Italian form of symphony; from Italian sinfonia, from Medieval Latin symphonia (see symphony).

symphonic(adj.)

1854 "involving or pertaining to similarity of sounds or harmony" (implied in symphonically); see symphony + -ic. The meaning "pertaining to a symphony" is from 1864. Perhaps in some instances from French symphonique; also compare Greek symphōnikos. Earlier in English was symphonious "characterized by harmony of sounds" (1650s).

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philharmonic
"loving harmony or music," 1813 (in the name of a society founded in London for the promotion of instrumental music), from French philharmonique (1739), from Italian filarmonico, literally "loving harmony," from Greek philos "loving" (see philo-) + ta harmonika "theory of harmony
LP
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for illegally parked vehicles, supposedly was invented 1953 by Frank Marugg, pattern-maker and violinist with the Denver Symphony...
orchestra
c. 1600, "area in an ancient theater for the chorus," from Latin orchestra, from Greek orkhēstra, semicircular space where the chorus of dancers performed, with suffix -tra denoting place + orkheisthai "to dance," perhaps an intensive of erkhesthai "to go, come," but not all expe
sonata
1690s, "any composition for instruments," from Italian sonata "piece of instrumental music," literally "sounded" (i.e. "played on an instrument," as opposed to cantata "sung"), fem. past participle of sonare "to sound," from Latin sonare "to sound" (from PIE root *swen- "to sound
music
mid-13c., musike, "a pleasing succession of sounds or combinations of sounds; the science of combining sounds in rhythmic, melodic, and (later) harmonic order," from Old French musique (12c.) and directly from Latin musica "the art of music," also including poetry (also source of
protagonist
1670s, "principal character in a story, drama, etc.," from Greek prōtagōnistēs "actor who plays the chief or first part," from prōtos "first" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, first, chief") + agōnistēs "actor, competitor," from agōn "contest" (from PIE root
sophomore
1680s, "student in the second year of university study," literally "arguer," altered from sophumer (1650s), from sophume, an archaic variant form of sophism, ultimately from Greek sophistēs "a master of one's craft; a wise or prudent man, one clever in matters of daily life." The
preposterous
1540s, "contrary to nature, reason, or common sense," from Latin praeposterus "absurd, contrary to nature, inverted, perverted, in reverse order," literally "before-behind" (compare topsy-turvy, cart before the horse), from prae "before" (see pre-) + posterus "subsequent, coming
specious
late 14c., "pleasing to the sight, fair," from Latin speciosus "good-looking, beautiful, fair," also "showy, pretended, plausible, specious" (source also of Old French specieux, specieuse), from species "appearance, form, figure, beauty" (see species). Meaning "seemingly desirabl

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