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

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

har·mon·ic       (här-mŏn'ĭk)  Pronunciation Key  adj.   Of or relating to harmony. Pleasing to the ear: harmonic orchestral effects. Characterized by harmony: a harmonic liturgical chant. Of or relating to harmonics. Integrated in nature. n.   Any of a series of musical tones whose frequencies are integral multiples of the frequency of a fundamental tone. A tone produced on a stringed instrument by lightly touching an open or stopped vibrating string at a given fraction of its length so that both segments vibrate. Also called overtone, partial, partial tone. harmonics (used with a sing. verb) The theory or study of the physical properties and characteristics of musical sound. Physics A wave whose frequency is a whole-number multiple of that of another. [Latin harmonicus, from Greek harmonikos, from harmoniā, harmony; see harmony.] har·mon'i·cal·ly adv.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
harmonic 

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

harmonic
adjective
1.	of or relating to harmony as distinct from melody and rhythm; "subtleties of harmonic change and tonality"- Ralph Hill [ant: nonharmonic]
2.	of or relating to harmonics
3.	of or relating to the branch of acoustics that studies the composition of musical sounds; "the sound of the resonating cavity cannot be the only determinant of the harmonic response"
4.	relating to vibrations that occur as a result of vibrations in a nearby body; "sympathetic vibration"
5.	involving or characterized by harmony [syn: consonant]
noun
1.	a tone that is a component of a complex sound
2.	any of a series of musical tones whose frequencies are integral multiples of the frequency of a fundamental

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

harmonic       (här-mŏn'ĭk)  Pronunciation Key  (click for larger image in new window) Noun   Periodic motion whose frequency is a whole-number multiple of some fundamental frequency. The motion of objects or substances that vibrate or oscillate in a regular fashion, such as the strings of musical instruments, can be analyzed as a combination of a fundamental frequency and higher harmonics. Harmonics above the first harmonic (the fundamental frequency) in sound waves are called overtones. The first overtone is the second harmonic, the second overtone is the third harmonic, and so on. Adjective   Related to or having the properties of such periodic motion.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Harmonic

Har*mon"ic\, Harmonical \Har*mon"ic*al\, a. [L. harmonicus, Gr. ?; cf. F. harmonique. See Harmony.]

1. Concordant; musical; consonant; as, harmonic sounds.

Harmonic twang! of leather, horn, and brass. --Pope.

2. (Mus.) Relating to harmony, -- as melodic relates to melody; harmonious; esp., relating to the accessory sounds or overtones which accompany the predominant and apparent single tone of any string or sonorous body.

3. (Math.) Having relations or properties bearing some resemblance to those of musical consonances; -- said of certain numbers, ratios, proportions, points, lines. motions, and the like.

Harmonic interval (Mus.), the distance between two notes of a chord, or two consonant notes.

Harmonical mean (Arith. & Alg.), certain relations of numbers and quantities, which bear an analogy to musical consonances.

Harmonic motion, the motion of the point A, of the foot of the perpendicular PA, when P moves uniformly in the circumference of a circle, and PA is drawn perpendicularly upon a fixed diameter of the circle. This is simple harmonic motion. The combinations, in any way, of two more simple harmonic motions, make other kinds of harmonic motion. The motion of the pendulum bob of a clock is approximately simple harmonic motion.

{Harmonic proportion. See under Proportion.

Harmonic series or progression. See under Progression.

Spherical harmonic analysis, a mathematical method, sometimes referred to as that of Laplace's Coefficients, which has for its object the expression of an arbitrary, periodic function of two independent variables, in the proper form for a large class of physical problems, involving arbitrary data, over a spherical surface, and the deduction of solutions for every point of space. The functions employed in this method are called spherical harmonic functions. --Thomson & Tait.

Harmonic suture (Anat.), an articulation by simple apposition of comparatively smooth surfaces or edges, as between the two superior maxillary bones in man; -- called also harmonic, and harmony.

Harmonic triad (Mus.), the chord of a note with its third and fifth; the common chord.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Harmonic

Har*mon"ic\, n. (Mus.) A musical note produced by a number of vibrations which is a multiple of the number producing some other; an overtone. See Harmonics.