Consonancy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being in accord or harmony with something else, especially in sound or meaning
2. The state of agreeing or being compatible with other elements, creating a unified and coherent whole
3. Compatibility or consistency between different parts, ideas, or sounds that align harmoniously together

Etymology: "Consonancy" is a doublet of "consonance," the two words descending from the same Latin source, "cōnsonantia," which combined "con-" (together) with "sonare" (to sound). The Latin noun meant agreement or harmony of sounds, and English took it in as a near-identical twin of the older form. Both words carry the same core sense of notes or voices sounding together pleasingly. The two forms have split their duties over time. "Consonance" has become the usual term in music and acoustics, where it describes intervals that sound stable and agreeable, while "consonancy" survives as a less common alternative with the same meaning. Because it arrived as a second copy of an existing word rather than a fresh borrowing, it shows how English sometimes keeps two forms of one Latin term and lets them drift apart in use.

Synonyms: consonance, accord, harmony, agreement

Antonyms: dissonance, discord, disagreement