diapason

[ dahy-uh-pey-zuhn, -suhn ]

noun

, Music.

1. a full, rich outpouring of melodious sound.
2. the compass of a voice or instrument.
3. a fixed standard of pitch.
4. either of two principal timbres or stops of a pipe organ, one of full, majestic tone open diapason and the other of strong, flutelike tone stopped diapason.
5. any of several other organ stops.
6. a tuning fork.

diapason

/ -ˈsɒn-; -ˈpeɪsən; ˌdaɪəpeɪˈzɒnɪk; ˌdaɪəˈpeɪzən /

noun

1. either of two stops ( open and stopped diapason ) usually found throughout the compass of a pipe organ that give it its characteristic tone colour
2. the compass of an instrument or voice
3. chiefly in French usage
   1. a standard pitch used for tuning, esp the now largely obsolete one of A above middle C = 435 hertz, known as diapason normal ( French ( djapazɔ̃ nɔrmal )
   2. a tuning fork or pitch pipe
4. (in classical Greece) an octave

Derived Forms

• diaˈpasonal, adjective

Other Words From

• dia·pason·al adjective
• subdi·a·pason noun
• subdi·a·pason·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of diapason¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English diapasoun, dyapason, from Latin diapāsōn “the whole octave,” from Greek dià pāsôn (chordôn) “through all (the notes),” short for hē dià pāsôn chordôn symphōnía “the concord through all the notes of the scale”

Word History and Origins

Origin of diapason¹

C14: from Latin: the whole octave, from Greek: ( hē ) dia pasōn ( khordōn sumphōnia ) (concord) through all (the notes), from dia through + pas all

Example Sentences

“It sounds glamorous to say the president was there, but security was such an issue that it made life difficult,” Mr. Russell said in a 2006 interview with the Diapason, a publication for those who play and build pipe organs.

From Washington Post

“In all three,” Mark Swed wrote in a review in The Los Angeles Times, “the stirring deep pedal tones produced a sonic weight that seemed to anchor the entire building, while the upper diapason notes were clear and warm. The delicate echo effects in the slow movement of Mendelssohn’s sonata spoke magically, as if coming from the garden outdoors.”

From New York Times

“Of course,” he told The Diapason, a publication about organs, in 2014, “any 3-year-old can figure out how to get into a piano if he really wants to, and I did.”

From New York Times

He tried the working ones, first the Pyramid Diapason, then the Choir Organ, then the Flute Harmonique, a high, sweet tone that shot straight to the altar.

From New York Times

There are basic groupings of sound, such as flutes, the human voice, trumpets and the diapason, which is the organ’s own sound.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• area
• dimension
• field
• length
• matter
• scope
• space
• spectrum
• territory