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Cacophony - 4 dictionary results

ca⋅coph⋅o⋅ny

  [kuh-kof-uh-nee]
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–noun, plural -nies.
1. harsh discordance of sound; dissonance: a cacophony of hoots, cackles, and wails.
2. a discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds: the cacophony produced by city traffic at midday.
3. Music. frequent use of discords of a harshness and relationship difficult to understand.
Origin:
1650–60; < NL cacophonia < Gk kakophōnía. See caco-, -phony

Related forms:
cac⋅o⋅phon⋅ic  [kak-uh-fon-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ca·coph·o·ny   (kə-kŏf'ə-nē)   
n.   pl. ca·coph·o·nies
  1. Jarring, discordant sound; dissonance: heard a cacophony of horns during the traffic jam.
  2. The use of harsh or discordant sounds in literary composition, as for poetic effect.

[French cacophonie, from Greek kakophōniā, from kakophōnos, cacophonous; see cacophonous.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cacophony

Ca*coph"o*ny\, n.; pl. Cacophonies. [Gr. ?????????; ????? bad + ???? sound: cf. F. Cacophonie.]

1. (Rhet.) An uncouth or disagreable sound of words, owing to the concurrence of harsh letters or syllables. "Cacophonies of all kinds." --Pope.

2. (Mus.) A combination of discordant sounds.

3. (Med.) An unhealthy state of the voice.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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cacophony 
1656, from Gk. kakophonia, from kakophonos "harsh sounding," from kakos "bad, evil" + phone "voice" (see fame). Kako- was a common prefix in Gk., and has often crossed over into Eng., e.g. cacography, the opposite of calligraphy (q.v.). Etymologists connect it with PIE *kakka- "to defecate."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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