tone

name

1. A river in Somerset, England, which flows into the River Parrett.

noun

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, “to stretch”). Doublet of tune, ton, tonos, and tonus.

1. A specific pitch.
2. (in the diatonic scale) An interval of a major second.
3. (in a Gregorian chant) A recitational melody.
4. The character of a sound, especially the timbre of an instrument or voice.
5. The pitch of a word's sound that distinguishes a difference in meaning, as for example in Chinese.
6. A whining style of speaking; a kind of mournful or artificial strain of voice; an affected speaking with a measured rhythm and a regular rise and fall of the voice.

   “Children often read with a tone.”

7. The manner in which speech or writing is expressed, especially the aspects of diction (word choice), connotation, emotiveness, and register.

   “Their tone was dissatisfied, almost menacing.”

8. State of mind; temper; mood.

   “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.”

9. The shade or quality of a colour.

   “We make crude visual distinctions and effectively meaningless categorizations based on average skin tones, such as black or white.”

10. The favourable effect of a picture produced by the combination of light and shade, or of colours.

    “This picture has tone.”

11. The definition and firmness of a muscle or organ; see also: tonus.
12. The state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor.
13. Normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli.
14. a gun

    “But nigga don't step wrong, cuz 8ball keep a tone”

    “M.A.C.T.D.O.G got the tone so hoe you know it's on”

15. The general character, atmosphere, mood, or vibe (of a situation, place, etc.).

    “Her rousing speech gave an upbeat tone to the rest of the evening.”

    “Mr O'Brien confirmed the warning from the council was based on the fact that the structure the mural was painted on was not a temporary one and on the claim that it changes the tone of the street and impacts on the area.”

16. The quality of being respectable or admirable.

    “"I am going to raise the tone of the business. That's wot I want you for. To raise the tone of the business."”

    “The teaching we have had of late has lowered the tone of Christianity, as the remarks by the two gentlemen who preceded me will attest; and, instead of producing stalwart manhood, it has generated a brood of mountebanks. Give us a pure Gospel or a vacant pulpit!”

pron

Etymology: From Middle English tone, ton, toon, from the incorrect division of thet one (“the/that one”). Compare Scots tane in the tane; see also tother.

1. the one (of two)

verb

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, “to stretch”). Doublet of tune, ton, tonos, and tonus.

1. to give a particular tone to
2. to change the colour of
3. to make (something) firmer
4. to utter with an affected tone.