# polyphony

> English word · Noun · IPA /pəˈlɪfəni/ · frequency rank #66,206

## Definitions
1. Musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony).
2. The quality of a text of being able to be read in more than one way.

## Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πολυφωνία (poluphōnía); equivalent to poly- + -phony.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/polyphony