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subtonic

[ suhb-ton-ik ]

noun

  1. the seventh tone of a scale, being the next below the upper tonic.


subtonic

/ sʌbˈtɒnɪk /

noun

  1. music the seventh degree of a major or minor scale Also calledleading note
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of subtonic1

First recorded in 1825–35; sub- + tonic
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Example Sentences

Some syllables that so end, by virtue of tonic or subtonic elements which they may contain, are capable of some prolongation; for example, warp, dart, block, grab, dread, grog.

"So gradually as to allow its being engrafted on a subtonic."

The elementary sounds of speech are of three natural divisions; the tonics, the subtonics, and the atonics.

Be careful not to convert the subtonic into a tonic.

The Atonics correspond with the first eleven of the subtonics as given above, from which they differ almost alone in having no vocality.

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subtlysubtopia