a measure of the apparent loudness level of a sound with respect to a 1,000-cycle-per-second pure tone: based on the subjective judgment of the human ear or on objective comparisons of acoustical measurements
See phon in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(fŏn)
noun
A unit of apparent loudness, equal in number to the intensity in decibels of a 1,000-hertz tone perceived to be as loud as the sound being measured.