1. an elaborate musical composition for full orchestra, typically in four movements, at least one of which is traditionally in sonata form: "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony"
▪ an orchestral interlude in a large-scale vocal work.
▪ (especially in names of orchestras) short for symphony orchestra
▪ something regarded, typically favorably, as a composition of different elements:"autumn is a symphony of texture and pattern"
Word OriginMiddle English (denoting any of various instruments such as the dulcimer or the virginal): from Old French symphonie, via Latin from Greek sumphōnia, from sumphōnos ‘harmonious’, from sun- ‘together’ + phōnē ‘sound’.
