DIATONIC


Meaning of DIATONIC in English

/ ˌdaɪəˈtɒnɪk; NAmE -ˈtɑːn-/ adjective

( music ) using only the notes of the appropriate major or minor scale

—compare chromatic

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WORD ORIGIN

early 17th cent. (denoting a tetrachord, a scale of four notes, divided into two tones and a lower semitone, or ancient Greek music based on this): from French diatonique , or via late Latin from Greek diatonikos at intervals of a tone, from dia through + tonos tone.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.