homophony
(həʊˈmɒfənɪ)
[ad. Gr. ὁµοϕωνία unison, f. ὁµόϕωνος (see homophone).]
1. Mus. Homophonic music or style. a. Unison, or music performed in unison: opp. to antiphony. b. loosely. Monophony, monody: opp. to polyphony. (See homophonic.)
| 1776 Burney Hist. Mus. I. 137 Antiphony is more agreeable than homophony. 1879 Grove's Dict. Mus. I. 111 The leading feature in..the 17th century is..the development of homophony with its melodious character and its richness of harmony, in contradistinction to the old strict polyphony. |
2. Philol. The quality of being homophonous; identity of sound (of words or characters).
| 1842 Brande Dict. Sci. etc. s.v., In French, which is peculiarly a dialect of Latin abounding in contractions, homophonies are numerous. 1892 Spectator 13 Aug. 233/2 Evident corruptions of the texts..specially favoured by the homophonies of the characters. |