consonance
Meaning
A pleasing combination of sounds, especially in music or speech.
Agreement, compatibility, or harmony between people or things.
Structure
Usage
The composer used perfect consonance to create a sense of resolution in the final chord.
There was a clear consonance between the company's stated values and its actual practices.
The poet achieved a beautiful consonance through the repetition of soft 's' and 'l' sounds.
Etymology
The word 'consonance' originates from the Latin 'consonantia', which itself is derived from 'consonare', meaning "to sound together". The Latin components are 'con-' (together) and 'sonare' (to sound). This literal sense of sounds blending agreeably was carried through Old French into Middle English. Over time, the meaning expanded beyond the purely auditory to encompass any form of agreement or harmony between abstract elements, such as ideas or actions, reflecting the metaphorical extension of a pleasing sonic blend to a pleasing conceptual alignment.
Analysis
- con: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "together, with". - son: Latin origin, from the root 'sonus' meaning "sound". - ance: Latin/French origin, a noun-forming suffix indicating a state, quality, or action.