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Definition of Unison - 4 dictionary results

u⋅ni⋅son

  [yoo-nuh-suhn, -zuhn]
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–noun
1. coincidence in pitch of two or more musical tones, voices, etc.
2. the musical interval of a perfect prime.
3. the performance of musical parts at the same pitch or at the octave.
4. a sounding together in octaves, esp. of male and female voices or of higher and lower instruments of the same class.
5. a process in which all elements behave in the same way at the same time; simultaneous or synchronous parallel action: to march in unison.
—Idiom
6. in unison, in perfect accord; corresponding exactly: My feelings on the subject are in unison with yours.
Origin:
1565–75; < ML ūnisonus of a single sound, equiv. to L ūni- uni- + sonus sound
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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u·ni·son   (yōō'nĭ-sən, -zən)   
n.  

  1. Music

    1. Identity of pitch; the interval of a perfect prime.

    2. The combination of parts at the same pitch or in octaves.

  2. The act or an instance of speaking the same words simultaneously by two or more speakers.

  3. An instance of agreement; concord.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin ūnisonus, in unison, from Late Latin, monotonous : Latin ūni-, uni- + Latin sonus, sound; see swen- in Indo-European roots.]
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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Cultural Dictionary

unison

Playing or singing the same musical notes, or notes separated from each other by one or several octaves. Musicians who perform in unison are not playing or singing chords.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

unison 
1574, from M.Fr. unisson "unison, accord of sound" (16c.), from M.L. unisonus "having one sound, sounding the same," from L.L. unisonius "in immediate sequence in the scale, monotonous," from L. uni- "one" (see one) + sonus "sound" (see sound (n.1)). Sense of "harmonious agreement" is first attested 1650.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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