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cacophony

 - 3 dictionary results

ca⋅coph⋅o⋅ny

  [kuh-kof-uh-nee]
Use cacophony in a Sentence
–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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Word Origin & History

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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