harmonic

[ hahr-mon-ik ]
See synonyms for: harmonicharmonics on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. pertaining to harmony, as distinguished from melody and rhythm.

  2. marked by harmony; in harmony; concordant; consonant.

  1. Physics. of, relating to, or noting a series of oscillations in which each oscillation has a frequency that is an integral multiple of the same basic frequency.

  2. Mathematics.

    • (of a set of values) related in a manner analogous to the frequencies of tones that are consonant.

    • capable of being represented by sine and cosine functions.

    • (of a function) satisfying the Laplace equation.

noun
  1. Physics. a single oscillation whose frequency is an integral multiple of the fundamental frequency.

Origin of harmonic

1
1560–70; <Latin harmonicus<Greek harmonikós musical, suitable. See harmony, -ic

Other words from harmonic

  • har·mon·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • har·mon·i·cal·ness, noun
  • non·har·mon·ic, adjective
  • un·har·mon·ic, adjective
  • un·har·mon·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby harmonic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use harmonic in a sentence

  • The music is juvenile stuff—tonic-dominant, without harmonic richness or surprise.

    Why All the Hate for Les Mis? | Megan McArdle | January 7, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Otherwise the pipes will speak a harmonic instead of the sound intended—as, indeed, frequently happens.

  • harmonic Flutes, of double length open pipes, are now utilized by almost all organ builders.

  • The singing of the choir is pretty exact and melodious; but it is too weak—needs more harmonic energy and general strength.

  • The melody of the dance music which all along had seeped to them in harmonic murmur from the distant ballroom was now hushed.

    The Tigress | Anne Warner
  • Music no less surely does the same through the agency of rhythm, melody, and harmonic texture.

    Spirit and Music | H. Ernest Hunt

British Dictionary definitions for harmonic

harmonic

/ (hɑːˈmɒnɪk) /


adjective
  1. of, involving, producing, or characterized by harmony; harmonious

  2. music of, relating to, or belonging to harmony

  1. maths

    • capable of expression in the form of sine and cosine functions

    • of or relating to numbers whose reciprocals form an arithmetic progression

  2. physics of or concerned with an oscillation that has a frequency that is an integral multiple of a fundamental frequency

  3. physics of or concerned with harmonics

noun
  1. physics music a component of a periodic quantity, such as a musical tone, with a frequency that is an integral multiple of the fundamental frequency. The first harmonic is the fundamental, the second harmonic (twice the fundamental frequency) is the first overtone, the third harmonic (three times the fundamental frequency) is the second overtone, etc

  2. music (not in technical use) overtone: in this case, the first overtone is the first harmonic, etc

Origin of harmonic

1
C16: from Latin harmonicus relating to harmony

Derived forms of harmonic

  • harmonically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for harmonic

harmonic

[ här-mŏnĭk ]


Noun
  1. Periodic motion whose frequency is a whole-number multiple of some fundamental frequency. The motion of objects or substances that vibrate or oscillate in a regular fashion, such as the strings of musical instruments, can be analyzed as a combination of a fundamental frequency and higher harmonics.♦ Harmonics above the first harmonic (the fundamental frequency) in sound waves are called overtones. The first overtone is the second harmonic, the second overtone is the third harmonic, and so on.

Adjective
  1. Related to or having the properties of such periodic motion.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.