English
harmony
Harmony comes from Latin harmonia ‘harmony, concordance of sounds’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to join, fit, fix together’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to join, fit, fix together’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCE*ἁρμωνreconstructed
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἁρμονίαharmonía‘joint, union, agreement, concord of sounds’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEharmonia‘harmony, concordance of sounds’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400harmonie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500armonye
- Englishearliest quotation 2012harmony
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to join, fit, fix together’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCE*ἁρμωνreconstructed
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἁρμονίαharmonía‘joint, union, agreement, concord of sounds’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEharmonia‘harmony, concordance of sounds’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400harmonie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500armonye
- Englishearliest quotation 2012harmony
Earliest quotation: 2012, Hermann Hesse, Gertrude: A Novel: “I did not know anything more about music,only about…”
first attested First attested in 1602 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in 1602.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to join, fit, fix together’
order, ready, rate, reason, art, article, artist, army, ratio, ordinary, arm, coordinate, alarm, coordination, subordinate, arthritis, articulate, anarchy, ornament, armor, ordination, arithmetic, ornate, inertia, inert, aristocratic, artisan, adorn, ordinate, ordinator, articulation, armament, ordinal, rta, rime, philharmonic, ordain, artifice, ordo, armadillo, 80 more
Today it means
noun Agreement or accord.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- / harmony