English adopted the noun “euphony” from the French word “euphonie,” but it goes back to the Greek word “euphōnos,” meaning “well sounding.” “Euphony” can describe any pleasing sound, but it is most commonly applied to words. There is, however, a specific linguistic phenomenon called “euphony.” Some speakers are drawn to easier-to-pronounce words, even going so far as to alter the pronunciation of words to make them simpler and faster to say. The development of contractions is an example of euphony.