Cacophony definition |Dictionary.com

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5 dictionary results for: Cacophony

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ca·coph·o·ny

[kuh-kof-uh-nee] Pronunciation Key

–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] Pronunciation Key, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ca·coph·o·ny (kə-kŏf'ə-nē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. ca·coph·o·nies

Jarring, discordant sound; dissonance: heard a cacophony of horns during the traffic jam.
The use of harsh or discordant sounds in literary composition, as for poetic effect.

[French cacophonie, from Greek kakophōniā, from kakophōnos, cacophonous; see cacophonous.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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."

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This