philharmonicadj.n.
/ˌfɪl(h)ɑːˈmɒnɪk/, /ˌfɪləˈmɒnɪk/, U.S. /ˌfɪlərˈmɑnɪk/, /ˌfɪlˌ(h)ɑrˈmɑnɪk/ A. adj.
That loves harmony; fond of or devoted to music. Chiefly (and now only) in the names of orchestras and other musical organizations, as Philharmonic Society, Philharmonic Orchestra, etc. Also: of, relating to, or associated with such an organization, as Philharmonic concert.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > music appreciation > music lover > [adjective]
musicala1500
music-loving?1613
philharmonic1740
society > leisure > the arts > music > music appreciation > music lover > [noun] > society
Philharmonic Society1740
philharmonic1855
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > a performance > [noun] > concert > types of
Philharmonic concert1740
benefit-concert1759
chamber concert1760
recital1762
Dutch concert1774
concert performance1777
philharmonica1796
musical soirée1821
sacred concert1832
soirée musicale1836
promenade concert1839
pianoforte recital1840
ballad concert1855
piano recital1855
Monday pop1862
Pop1862
promenade1864
popular1865
Schubertiad1869
recitative1873
organ recital1877
pop concert1880
smoker1887
smoke concert1888
café concert1891
prom1902
smoke-ho1918
smoking-concert1934
hootenanny1940
opry1940
Liederabend1958
society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > instrumentalist > company of instrumentalists > [noun] > orchestra > types of
Philharmonic Orchestra1740
philharmonica1796
gamelan1816
chamber orchestra1880
symphony1926
palm court orchestra1942
youth orchestra1948
Phil1949
steel orchestra1952
sinfonietta1970
sinfonia1976
1740 C. Avison Six Concerto's in Seven Parts 4 The Philharmonic Society in Dublin.
1813 Philharmonic Soc. 1 1 Several Members of the Musical Profession have associated themselves, under the title of The Philharmonic Society;..to procure the performance, in the most perfect manner possible, of the best and most approved Instrumental Music.
1823 New Monthly Mag. 8 127 The most philharmonic ear is at times deeply affected by a simple air.
1861 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) 30 Mar. 149/2 The loges of the Academy of Music at a Philharmonic Concert.
1874 Appletons' Jrnl. 10 Jan. 61/2 This splendid body of musicians came with him [sc. Theodore Thomas] to form the nucleus of the Philharmonic orchestra.
1906 N.E.D. at Philharmonic a. Philharmonic Society, name of various musical societies, esp. that founded in London in 1813 for the promotion of instrumental music.
1923 Gramophone Apr. 14/1 I prefer the old rendering [of Beethoven's C minor Symphony] conducted by Nikisch with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
1940 M. Grant & H. S. Hettinger Amer. Symphony Orchestras iii. 70 The New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia, and Boston symphony orchestras..have been grouped together as Group I.
1996 Church Times 30 Aug. 20/4 The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra's magnificent playing.
B. n.† 1. A lover of harmony; a person devoted to music. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > music appreciation > music lover > [noun]
symphone1572
philharmonic1762
music lover1822
melomaniac1836
melomane1857
musical1861
musicophile1931
1762 P. Murdoch tr. A. F. Büsching New Syst. Geogr. III. 86 The place in which the society or academy of philharmonics [Ger. Societas oder Academia Philarmonicorum] assemble.
1816 C. Lamb Glenarvon I. xxv. 210 I am not one who profess to be all enchantment at the scraping of a fiddle, because some old philharmonic plays on it.
2. Usually as Philharmonic. A (particular) philharmonic orchestra, society, concert, etc. Frequently with preceding name, as Berlin, New York, etc. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > a performance > [noun] > concert > types of
Philharmonic concert1740
benefit-concert1759
chamber concert1760
recital1762
Dutch concert1774
concert performance1777
philharmonica1796
musical soirée1821
sacred concert1832
soirée musicale1836
promenade concert1839
pianoforte recital1840
ballad concert1855
piano recital1855
Monday pop1862
Pop1862
promenade1864
popular1865
Schubertiad1869
recitative1873
organ recital1877
pop concert1880
smoker1887
smoke concert1888
café concert1891
prom1902
smoke-ho1918
smoking-concert1934
hootenanny1940
opry1940
Liederabend1958
society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > instrumentalist > company of instrumentalists > [noun] > orchestra > types of
Philharmonic Orchestra1740
philharmonica1796
gamelan1816
chamber orchestra1880
symphony1926
palm court orchestra1942
youth orchestra1948
Phil1949
steel orchestra1952
sinfonietta1970
sinfonia1976
society > leisure > the arts > music > music appreciation > music lover > [noun] > society
Philharmonic Society1740
philharmonic1855
a1796 R. Burns Bk. of Snobs in Compl. Wks. (1859) 303 At picture-auctions, at private views of exhibitions, or at the Opera or the Philharmonic.
1843 P. Hawker Diary (1893) II. 239 A Philharmonic of blackbirds and thrushes.
1855 ‘G. Eliot’ in Fraser's Mag. July 51/1 When a symphony of Beethoven's was first played at the Philharmonic, there was a general titter among the musicians in the orchestra.
1931 Gramophone Apr. 526/2 Even the famous New York Philharmonic..must, I think, take second place.
1944 B. Geissmar Baton & Jackboot 24 Arthur Nikisch..had been permanent conductor..of the Hamburg Concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic since 1897.
1961 J. Williams Forger i. 12 The artist is like a fragment of a mosaic—no, he is more than that, a virtuoso performer in some vast philharmonic.
1977 Time 10 Oct. 17/3 Her orchestral works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics.
2003 Independent 27 Oct. i. 14/5 Other than two hours in the Musikverein listening to the Vienna Philharmonic..I spent almost my entire time in Vienna wheezing.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1740