English
euphony
Euphony comes from Ancient Greek εὐφωνία ‘goodness of voice’, from φωνή ‘sound’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to say, speak’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to say, speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰoh₂-néh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰōnā́reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφωνήphōnḗ‘sound’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEεὐφωνίαeuphōnía‘goodness of voice’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeuphonia
- Frenchc. 1600–presenteuphonie
- Englishearliest quotation 1890euphony
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to say, speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰoh₂-néh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰōnā́reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφωνήphōnḗ‘sound’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEεὐφωνίαeuphōnía‘goodness of voice’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeuphonia
- Frenchc. 1600–presenteuphonie
- Englishearliest quotation 1890euphony
Earliest quotation: 1890, Weekly notes: “A correspondent of The American has taken exception to…”
The story
The English word is analysable as eu- + -phony.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to say, speak’
focus, professor, famous, fuel, ben, favor, favourite, ban, fantasy, phase, fate, fancy, fame, fatal, bee, fairy, fabulous, emphasis, infant, photographer, profession, abandon, phenomenon, beck, confession, confess, phantom, beacon, eff, fab, fay, bane, boon, fable, foyer, banish, prophetic, buoy, nefarious, profess, 121 more
through Proto-Hellenic *pʰōnā́
saxophone, gramophone, phoneme, 14 more
through Ancient Greek φωνή ‘sound’
Today it means
noun A pronunciation of letters and syllables which is pleasing to the ear.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / euphony