Diatonic

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Diatonic \Di`a*ton"ic\ (d[imac]`[.a]*t[o^]n"[i^]k), a. [L.
     diatonicus, diatonus, Gr. ?, ?, fr. ? to stretch out; dia`
     through + ? to stretch: cf. F. diatonique. See {Tone}.]
     (Mus.)
     Pertaining to the scale of eight tones, the eighth of which
     is the octave of the first.


     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Diatonic scale} (Mus.), a scale consisting of eight sounds
        with seven intervals, of which two are semitones and five
        are whole tones; a modern major or minor scale, as
        distinguished from the {chromatic} scale.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  diatonic
       adj 1: based on the standard major or minor scales consisting of 5
              tones and 2 semitones without modulation by
              accidentals [ant: {chromatic}]
       2: based on or using the five tones and two semitones of the
          major or minor scales of Western music