Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Music The seventh tone of a diatonic scale, immediately below the tonic.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In music, the next tone below the upper tonic of a scale; the leading-tone or seventh, as E in the scale of F. Also called subsemitone.
Wiktionary
- adj. phonetics, dated Of or pertaining to imperfectly articulated sounds or utterances that are inaudible or barely audible, as characterized by Dr. James Rush (Guide to Pronunciation, 1833).
- n. music The note immediately below the upper note of a musical scale.
- n. phonetics, dated An imperfectly articulated sound or utterance, as characterized by Dr. James Rush (Guide to Pronunciation, 1833).
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. (Phonetics) 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. - n. (Phonetics) A subtonic sound or element; a vocal consonant, as b, d, g, n, etc.; a subvocal.
- n. (Mus.) The seventh tone of the scale, or that immediately below the tonic; -- called also
subsemitone .
WordNet 3.0
- n. (music) the seventh note of the diatonic scale
Examples
“I'm reminded of the problem that physicists have when they're looking at subtonic particles.”
“= Indefinite Syllables = are capable of almost indefinite prolongation; they are those which terminate in a tonic, or any subtonic except one of the three abrupt subtonics, _b_, _d_, _g_; for example, _awe_, _fudge_,”
“If the terminal sound is a tonic, or a flowing subtonic, the implication consists of a gentle murmuring prolongation of the terminal element coalescing with the initial element of the next word; if the terminal element is a flowing atonic the prolongation will not be accompanied by a murmur; but in either case the vocal organs, while prolonging the sound of one word, prepare, as it were, to begin the next.”
“Some syllables that so end, by virtue of tonic or subtonic elements which they may contain, are capable of _some_ prolongation; for example, _warp_, _dart_, _block_, _grab_, _dread_,”
“Be careful not to convert the subtonic into a tonic.”
“-- Utter the word _bud_ slowly, and detach from the rest of the word the obscure murmur heard in pronouncing the first letter: this is the _subtonic_ represented by _b_.”
“But the correct and distinct pronunciation of the subtonic, and especially of the atonic, elements, when they occur, as is so frequent in English words, in combination, is not so easily accomplished; and orthoepy, in this respect, as a _habit_, cannot be secured without great care and incessant practice.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘subtonic’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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holy
The inner or western division of the Jewish tabernacle, as distinguished from the outer part, called the holy place. The holy of holies was inclosed on three sides by the walls of the tabernacle, w...
qodesh, hagiasmos, kyaptsitiwqa, separation, separation together, pure gift, purée, hlutor, putah, puréeing, collin, intemerated and 20 more...
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harmony of the spheres
tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, subtonic, leading tone, progression, sonata, concerto, allegro and 247 more...
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