Etymograph

English

cacophony

Cacophony comes from French cacophonie, from Ancient Greek κᾰκοφωνῐ́ᾱ ‘an ill-sound, cacophony’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine, glow light’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-1‘to shine, glow light’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰōnā́1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφωνή1phōnḗ‘sound’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰκόφωνος1kăkóphōnos‘ill-sounding’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰκοφωνῐ́ᾱ1kăkophōnĭ́ā‘an ill-sound, cacophony’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcacophonie1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2021cacophony1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English cacophony
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2021, Drachinifel: “The Japanese got their attack in first. About ten…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-Wiktionary, English cacophony‘to shine, glow light’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰōnā́Wiktionary, English cacophonyreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφωνήWiktionary, English cacophonyphōnḗ‘sound’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰκόφωνοςWiktionary, English cacophonykăkóphōnos‘ill-sounding’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰκοφωνῐ́ᾱWiktionary, English cacophonykăkophōnĭ́ā‘an ill-sound, cacophony’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcacophonieWiktionary, English cacophony
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2021cacophonyWiktionary, English cacophony. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2021, Drachinifel: “The Japanese got their attack in first. About ten…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine, glow light’

focus, professor, famous, fuel, ben, favor, favourite, ban, fantasy, phase, fate, fancy, fame, fatal, bee, fairy, fabulous, emphasis, photographer, infant, profession, abandon, phenomenon, beck, phantom, confession, confess, eff, fab, fay, bane, boon, beacon, fable, foyer, banish, buoy, nefarious, profess, fantasia, 121 more

through Proto-Hellenic *pʰōnā́

saxophone, gramophone, phoneme, 14 more

through Ancient Greek φωνή ‘sound’

phone, symphony, sinfonia, euphonium, phonon, 17 more

Today it means

noun A mix of discordant sounds; dissonance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cacophony”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / cacophony

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