polyphony

P3O1L1Y4P3H4O1N1Y4
UK/pəˈlɪfəni/

noun

Musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony).

“the polyphony of a biblical passage”

Similar
polyphonic musicconcerted music
Opposite
monophony
OriginAncient Greek πολυφωνία →
UncommonScrabble 22
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Meanings

nounpolyphony (countable and uncountable, plural polyphonies)

plural polyphonies

  1. countableuncountableentertainmentMusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony).
  2. countableuncountableliteratureThe quality of a text of being able to be read in more than one way.

    the polyphony of a biblical passage

Synonyms & antonyms

nounmusic arranged in parts for several voices or instruments

Similar
polyphonic musicconcerted music
Opposite
monophony
Broader
music
Also see
counterpoint

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekπολυφωνία
  2. Englishpolyphony

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πολυφωνία (poluphōnía); equivalent to poly- + -phony.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian полифо́ния, многогла́сие
  • полифо́ния (polifónija)musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
  • многогла́сие (mnogoglásie)musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Catalan polifonia
  • polifoniamusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Chinese Mandarin 複音 /复音, 複調 /复调
  • 複音 /复音 (fùyīn)musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
  • 複調 /复调 (fùdiào)quality of a text of being able to be read in more than one way
Danish polyfoni
  • polyfonimusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Dutch polyfonie
  • polyfoniemusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Finnish moniäänisyys, polyfonia
  • moniäänisyysmusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
  • polyfoniamusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
French polyphonie
  • polyphoniemusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
German Mehrstimmigkeit, Polyphonie
  • Mehrstimmigkeitmusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
  • Polyphoniemusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Greek πολυφωνία
  • πολυφωνία (polyfonía)musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Hebrew פוליפוניה
  • פוליפוניהmusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Icelandic fjölröddun, pólýfónía
  • fjölröddunmusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
  • pólýfóníamusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Italian polifonia
  • polifoniamusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Japanese ポリフォニー
  • ポリフォニーmusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Korean 다성음악
  • 다성음악 (daseong'eumak)musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Persian چندصدایی
  • چندصداییmusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Polish polifonia
  • polifoniamusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Portuguese polifonia
  • polifoniamusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Romanian polifonie
  • polifoniemusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Russian полифони́я, многоголо́сие
  • полифони́я (polifoníja)musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
  • многоголо́сие (mnogogolósije)musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Spanish polifonía
  • polifoníamusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Swedish polyfoni
  • polyfonimusical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Ukrainian поліфоні́я, багатоголо́сся
  • поліфоні́я (polifoníja)musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
  • багатоголо́сся (bahatoholóssja)musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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