Added 8 October 2026
tone
/ˈtəʊn/ noun
Latin root: tonus Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about tone at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A specific pitch.
- The character of a sound, especially the timbre of an instrument or voice.
- The pitch of a word's sound that distinguishes a difference in meaning, as for example in Chinese.
verb
- to give a particular tone to
- to change the colour of
- to make (something) firmer
pronoun
- the one (of two)
Origin
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, “to stretch”). Doublet of tune, ton, tonos, and tonus.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)