Euphonious

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /juːˈfəʊ.nɪ.əs/

Definitions

1. Exhibiting a quality of sound that is pleasant and tuneful, often eliciting a sense of enjoyment
2. Having a sound quality that is smooth and agreeable to the ear
3. Characterized by a pleasing arrangement of sounds that is easy and pleasant to listen to

Etymology: Ancient Greek speakers built "euphōnía" from "eu-", meaning "good, well", and "phōnē", meaning "sound" or "voice", so the word literally meant "good sound". French took it up as "euphonie", and English borrowed the noun "euphony" from there. The adjective came later, built in English by adding suffixes to that Greek core: "-ic" and "-al" first produced "euphonic" and "euphonical", and the familiar "-ous" (a suffix meaning "full of" or "having the quality of") finally produced "euphonious". The result is a word stacked with layers. Its root has been the same since antiquity, but the English adjective is a late, English-made addition, arriving after the noun had already settled into the language. Each suffix added a little more of the sense of "possessing" the quality, so the final form reads as "full of good sound" rather than simply "related to good sound".

Synonyms: melodious, harmonious, pleasant-sounding, sweet-sounding, tuneful

Antonyms: cacophonous, discordant, harsh, jarring, grating