tone

Etymology 1

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.

noun

1. (music) A specific pitch.
2. (music) (in the diatonic scale) An interval of a major second.
3. (music) (in a Gregorian chant) A recitational melody.
4. The character of a sound, especially the timbre of an instrument or voice.
5. (linguistics) The pitch of a word that distinguishes a difference in meaning, for example in Chinese.
6. (dated) 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. (literature) The manner in which speech or writing is expressed.
   Their tone was dissatisfied, almost menacing. 1850, William Cullen Bryant, Letters of a Traveller
8. (obsolete) 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. 2017, Adam Rutherford, A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, The Experiment, page 81
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. (biology) 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. (biology) Normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli.
14. (African-American Vernacular, slang) a gun
    But nigga don't step wrong, cuz 8ball keep a tone 1993, “9 Little Millimeta Boys”, in 8Ball (lyrics), Comin' Out Hard
    M.A.C.T.D.O.G got the tone so hoe you know it's on 1994, “Murda In Da 1st Degree”, in Princess Loko (lyrics), Ashes 2 Ashes, Dust 2 Dust
    Got the tone to ya head yo life flashing right front your eyes 2002, “Mouth Write a Check”, in Project Pat (lyrics), Layin' da Smack Down
15. (figurative)
    1. 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. 2016-07-25, Megan McDermott, “'Repeal the 8th' mural in Project Arts Centre in Temple Bar removed”, in Irish Times
       Manuel expects that once 2 St. Clair West is done it will change the tone of the neighbourhood. 2016-12-30, Francine Kopun, “Sleepy Yonge and St. Clair gets a makeover”, in Toronto Star
       "What struck me most was not necessarily what was said but ... the tone of the room, ... the fear and anxiety that people have for their family members who are currently in the grip of addiction," Green said. 2022-12-02, “Many solutions, some small, needed to tackle addictions in the N.W.T.”, in CBC
    2. (Chiefly in the form lower/raise the tone of something) 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." 1904, May Sinclair, The Divine Fire, H. Holt, page 340
       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! 1911, Charles Augustus Jenkens, The Bride's Return, Or, How Grand Avenue Church Came to Christ, C.H. Robinson, page 67
       But Mr Fagan said the tone of the street was brought down by the presence of people he termed "the Gatwickians" — residents of a rooming house called the Gatwick Private Hotel. 2015-07-09, Simon Leo Brown, “St Kilda's Fitzroy Street left to rot says hotel owner”, in ABC News
       But for anyone hoping that what proved to be a brief two-way female Tory leadership race might have raised the tone of British politics—currently at an all-time low after the vicious backroom machinations of Brexit referendum—the news wasn't promising. 2016-07-11, Leah McLaren, “After Brexit, a political revolution in the U.K.—for women”, in Maclean's
       That story is replicated wherever there is a brightly decorated house and a neighbour who cares about the tone of the street. 2017-12-11, Michael Hann, “C7 bulbs or C9s? How Christmas lights became a nerdy obsession”, in The Guardian

verb

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

Etymology 2

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.

pron

1. (now dialectal) the one (of two)