— polyphonically , adv.
/pol'ee fon"ik/ , adj.
1. consisting of many voices or sounds.
2. Music.
a. having two or more voices or parts, each with an independent melody, but all harmonizing; contrapuntal (opposed to homophonic ).
b. pertaining to music of this kind.
c. capable of producing more than one tone at a time, as an organ or a harp.
3. Phonet. having more than one phonetic value, as the letter s, that is voiced /z/ in nose and unvoiced /s/ in salt.
[ 1775-85; POLYPHONE + -IC ]