tone

Definition

A specific pitch.

Etymology

From Middle English ton, tone, from Latin tonus (“sound, tone”) (possibly through Old French ton), from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos, “strain, tension, pitch”), from τείνω (teínō, “I stretch”). Doublet of tune, ton, tonos, and tonus.

Example Sentences

• "Children often read with a tone."
• "Their tone was dissatisfied, almost menacing."
• "c. 1714 (undated), Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, letter to Alexander Pope The strange situation I am in and the melancholy state of public affairs, […] drag the mind down […] from a philosophical tone or temper, to the drudgery of private and public business."

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