phono-

pho·no-
/ˈfoʊnə-//ˈfoʊnoʊ-//fəˈnɒ-//ˌfoʊnə-/

prefix

Relating to sound

“phonograph”

OriginAncient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ) ← Proto-Hellenic *pʰōnā́ ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- →
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Meanings

prefix
  1. Relating to sound

    phonograph

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  2. Proto-Hellenic*pʰōnā́
  3. Ancient Greekφωνή (phōnḗ)
  4. Englishphono-

From Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice, sound”). The word φωνή primarily referred to articulated human or animal sounds. This is in contrast to ἠχή -- from which echo is derived -- which referred to sounds in general.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan fono-
  • fono-relating to sound
Dutch fono-
  • fono-relating to sound
French phono-
  • phono-relating to sound
German phono-
  • phono-relating to sound
Italian fono-
  • fono-relating to sound
Malay fono-
  • fono-relating to sound
Norwegian Bokmål fono-
  • fono-relating to sound
Polish fono-
  • fono-relating to sound
Portuguese fono-
  • fono-relating to sound
Romanian fono-
  • fono-relating to sound
Russian фоно-
  • фоно- (fono-)relating to sound
Spanish fono-
  • fono-relating to sound
Cite this entry
APA

phono-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phono-

MLA

“phono-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phono-. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phono-,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phono-.

Source: phono- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.