■ noun
1》 a medicinal substance taken to give a feeling of vigour or well-being.
2》 something with an invigorating effect.
3》 (also ~ water ) a carbonated soft drink with a bitter flavour, used as a mixer with gin or other spirits.
4》 Music the first note in a scale which, in conventional harmony, provides the keynote of a piece of music.
■ adjective
1》 Music relating to or denoting the first degree of a scale.
2》 Phonetics denoting or relating to the syllable within a tone group that has greatest prominence.
3》 Physiology relating to or restoring muscle tone.
↘of or denoting continuous muscular contraction.
Derivatives
~ally adverb
Origin
C17: from Fr. tonique , from Gk tonikos 'of or for stretching', from tonos (see tone ).