- To sing the notes of the gamut, ascending or descending;
as, do or ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, do, or the same in reverse
order. - The gamut, or musical scale. See Tonic sol-fa, under Tonic,
n.
- Applied to, or distinguishing, a speech element
consisting of tone, or proper vocal sound, not pure as in the vowels,
but dimmed and otherwise modified by some kind of obstruction in the
oral or the nasal passage, and in some cases with a mixture of breath
sound; -- a term introduced by Dr. James Rush in 1833. See Guide to
Pronunciation, //155, 199-202. - A subtonic sound or element; a vocal consonant, as b, d,
g, n, etc.; a subvocal. - The seventh tone of the scale, or that immediately below
the tonic; -- called also subsemitone.
- Having a scale running from the dominant to its octave; --
said of certain old church modes or tunes, as opposed to those called
authentic, which ran from the tonic to its octave.
- first tone of a scale - Prevailing tone - The tonic or first tone of the scale in which a piece or
passage is written; the fundamental tone of the chord, to which all the
modulations of the piece are referred; -- called also key tone. - The fundamental fact or idea; that which gives the key;
as, the keynote of a policy or a sermon.
- Green vitriol, or sulphate of iron; a green crystalline
substance, of an astringent taste, used in making ink, in dyeing black,
as a tonic in medicine, etc. It is made on a large scale by the
oxidation of iron pyrites. Called also ferrous sulphate.