Adjacent Words

Harmonic definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HARMON'IC
HARMON'ICA, n. A collection of musical glasses of a particular form, so arranged as to produce exquisite music.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of or relating to harmony as distinct from melody and rhythm; "subtleties of harmonic change and tonality"- Ralph Hill [ant: nonharmonic]
2: of or relating to harmonics
3: of or relating to the branch of acoustics that studies the composition of musical sounds; "the sound of the resonating cavity cannot be the only determinant of the harmonic response"
4: relating to vibrations that occur as a result of vibrations in a nearby body; "sympathetic vibration" [syn: harmonic, sympathetic]
5: involving or characterized by harmony [syn: consonant, harmonic, harmonical, harmonized, harmonised] n
1: a tone that is a component of a complex sound
2: any of a series of musical tones whose frequencies are integral multiples of the frequency of a fundamental

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 1570 1. musical 2. of or relating to musical harmony or a harmonic 3. pleasing to the ear ; harmonious 4. of an integrated nature ; congruous • harmonically adverb II. noun Date: 1777 1. a. overtone; especially one whose vibration frequency is an integral multiple of that of the fundamental b. a flutelike tone produced on a stringed instrument by touching a vibrating string at a nodal point 2. a component frequency of a complex wave (as of electromagnetic energy) that is an integral multiple of the fundamental frequency

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 of or characterized by harmony; harmonious. 2 Mus. a of or relating to harmony. b (of a tone) produced by vibration of a string etc. in an exact fraction of its length. 3 Math. of or relating to quantities whose reciprocals are in arithmetical progression (harmonic progression). --n. 1 Mus. an overtone accompanying at a fixed interval (and forming a note with) a fundamental. 2 Physics a component frequency of wave motion. Phrases and idioms: harmonic motion (in full simple harmonic motion) oscillatory motion under a retarding force proportional to the amount of displacement from an equilibrium position. harmonic progression (or series) Math. a series of quantities whose reciprocals are in arithmetical progression. Derivatives: harmonically adv. Etymology: L harmonicus f. Gk harmonikos (as HARMONY)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

the motion of the point A, of the foot of the perpendicular PA, when P moves uniformly in the circumference of a circle, and PA is drawn perpendicularly upon a fixed diameter of the circle. This is simple harmonic motion. The combinations, in any way, of two more simple harmonic motions, make other kinds of harmonic motion. The motion of the pendulum bob of a clock is approximately simple harmonic motion. Harmonic proportion. See under Proportion. Harmonic series or progression. See under Progression. Spherical harmonic analysis, a mathematical method, sometimes referred to as that of Laplace's Coefficients, which has for its object the expression of an arbitrary, periodic function of two independent variables, in the proper form for a large class of physical problems, involving arbitrary data, over a spherical surface, and the deduction of solutions for every point of space. The functions employed in this method are called spherical harmonic functions. --Thomson & Tait. Harmonic suture (Anat.), an articulation by simple apposition of comparatively smooth surfaces or edges, as between the two superior maxillary bones in man; -- called also harmonic, and harmony. Harmonic triad (Mus.), the chord of a note with its third and fifth; the common chord.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Harmonic Har*mon"ic, Harmonical Har*mon"ic*al, a. [L. harmonicus, Gr. ?; cf. F. harmonique. See Harmony.] 1. Concordant; musical; consonant; as, harmonic sounds. Harmonic twang! of leather, horn, and brass. --Pope. 2. (Mus.) Relating to harmony, -- as melodic relates to melody; harmonious; esp., relating to the accessory sounds or overtones which accompany the predominant and apparent single tone of any string or sonorous body. 3. (Math.) Having relations or properties bearing some resemblance to those of musical consonances; -- said of certain numbers, ratios, proportions, points, lines. motions, and the like. Harmonic interval (Mus.), the distance between two notes of a chord, or two consonant notes. Harmonical mean (Arith. & Alg.), certain relations of numbers and quantities, which bear an analogy to musical consonances. Harmonic motion,

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Harmonic Har*mon"ic, n. (Mus.) A musical note produced by a number of vibrations which is a multiple of the number producing some other; an overtone. See Harmonics.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Harmonic means composed, played, or sung using two or more notes which sound right and pleasing together. ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a.; (also harmonical) 1. Harmonious, concordant, consonant. 2. Melodious, tuneful, musical. 3. Pertaining to harmony, relating to music, musical.

Moby Thesaurus

AF, accordant, according, assonant, assonantal, attuned, audio frequency, blended, blending, chiming, concordant, consonant, flageolet tone, fluctuant, fluctuating, fluctuational, frequency, fundamental, fundamental tone, harmonic tone, harmonious, harmonizing, homophonic, in accord, in chorus, in concert, in concord, in sync, in tune, in unison, intonation, libratory, monodic, monophonic, monotone, monotony, musical, nutational, oscillating, oscillatory, overtone, partial, partial tone, pendular, pendulous, periodic, pitch, resonant, symphonic, symphonious, synchronized, synchronous, tone, tonelessness, tuned, unisonant, unisonous, vacillating, vacillatory, vibratile, vibrating, vibratory, wavering