Standard Lemma guide

phono-

prefix · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈfoʊnə-/ stress on first syllable; e.g., phonograph
  • /ˈfoʊnoʊ-/ stress on first syllable; e.g., phonograph
  • /fəˈnɒ-/ stress on second syllable; e.g., phonology
  • /ˌfoʊnə-/ stress on third syllable; e.g., phonocentric
  • /ˌfoʊnoʊ-/ stress on third syllable; e.g., phonocentric

1

prefix

Meaning 1

Relating to sound

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: morpheme

Examples

  • phonograph

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bheh2-der. Proto-Hellenic *phōnā́ Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ)der. English phono- From Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice, sound”). The word φωνή primarily referred to articulated human or animal sounds. This is in contrast to ἠχή -- from which echo is derived -- which referred to sounds in general.

Across languages

Translations

17 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: fono- — relating to sound
  • Dutch: fono- — relating to sound
  • French: phono- — relating to sound
  • Galician: fono- — relating to sound
  • German: phono- — relating to sound
  • Italian: fono- — relating to sound
  • Macedonian: фоно- (fono-) — relating to sound
  • Malay: fono- — relating to sound
  • Norwegian Bokmål: fono- — relating to sound
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: fono- — relating to sound
  • Polish: fono- — relating to sound
  • Portuguese: fono- — relating to sound
  • Romanian: fono- — relating to sound
  • Russian: фоно- (fono-) — relating to sound
  • Serbo-Croatian: фоно- — relating to sound
  • Serbo-Croatian: fono- — relating to sound
  • Spanish: fono- — relating to sound