homophony

plural homophonies

1. countableuncountableentertainmentA musical texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords; the quality of being homophonic.

   On the other hand, it seems to be the fact that well-bred Englishmen do not say "it's him" or it's her." The formula is: "It's he"; "it's she"; "it's me." The homophony doubtless accounts for the anomaly in the case of "me."

   1921 February 28, Henry Alfred Todd, “‘It Is Me’”, in The New York Times (section 7), volume LXX, number 23,052, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, published 6 March 1921, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 Jan 2026, page 10, column 3

   1 more example

   Full of gently lapping lines, close imitation and moments of honeyed homophony, all underpinned by tactful percussion, it is startlingly different from the driving, hard edges of much of Lang's work with the Bang On a Can collective.

   2009 September 4, Andrew Clements, “Lang: The Little Match Girl Passion, etc”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2014

2. countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe quality of being homophonous.

   There is, for example, the homophony of "merry" and "Mary," which typifies the South Midland accent common in the hill country of east Tennessee and upper Georgia.

   1985 November 17, William E. Schmidt, “A HARVEST OF DIALECTS IN THE SOUTH”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 May 2015

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   I'd like to point out a few inaccuracies in your article on Joost, where I work (What is Joost all about, January 18). One, it's pronounced more like "juiced". Whether the homophony is deliberate only Janus and Niklas know.

   2007 February 1, Mat Hall, “Letters and blogs”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 Oct 2014

   This is the third puzzle with a theme that plays on the homophony between the word “sea” and the letter C to come across my desk in recent months, but I’m tickled every time.

   2024 July 30, Sam Corbin, “Full of Oneself”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Aug 2024