MODULATION


Meaning of MODULATION in English

ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈlāshən noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English modulacion, from Latin modulation-, modulatio, from modulatus (past participle of modulari to modulate) + -ion-, -io -ion

1. archaic : a singing or making of music : musical sound : melody

2. : a fitting or regulating according to a certain measure or proportion : a tempering or toning down

appetites so vigorous and senses so vivid do not lend themselves to temperance, to tolerance, to modulation — Francis Hackett

3.

a. : an inflection or varying of the tone or pitch of the voice

that singularly individual voice … mature, confident, seldom varying in pitch, but full of slight, very moving modulations — Willa Cather

b. : a particular intonation or inflection of the voice

told us, in rich nasal modulation — E.V.Lucas

the soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant

c.

(1) : the use of stress or pitch to convey meaning

(2) : an instance of such modulation

4. : the determination of proportions in a classic architectural order by means of the module or unit of length

5.

a. : one of four tones (final, dominant, mediant, participant) of an ecclesiastical mode on which a phrase may begin or end

b. : the act or process of changing from one tonality to another without a break in the melody or the chord succession

6. : a melodious use of language especially by variations of rhythm and tone : verbal harmony

we read it as much for its pleasing rendition of a state of mind … as for the modulation of its prose rhythms — David Daiches

the metrical mastery which catches so naturally, yet with so true a modulation , the faltering accents of the supplicant — Edmund Wilson

7. : the variation of a characteristic (as amplitude, frequency, or phase) of a carrier or signal in a periodic or intermittent manner for the transmission of intelligence (as in telegraphy, telephony, radio, television)

8. : a reversible change in histological structure due to physiological factors

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.