tonic

¹ American  

[ton-ik] / ˈtɒn ɪk /

noun

1. a medicine that invigorates or strengthens.

   a tonic of sulphur and molasses.

2. anything invigorating physically, mentally, or morally.

   His cheerful greeting was a real tonic.

   Synonyms:

   pickup, bracer, restorative, stimulant

3. quinine water.

4. Music. the first degree of the scale; the keynote.

5. Chiefly Eastern New England. soda pop.

6. Phonetics. a tonic syllable or accent.

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adjective

1. pertaining to, maintaining, increasing, or restoring the tone or health of the body or an organ, as a medicine.

2. invigorating physically, mentally, or morally.

3. Physiology, Pathology.

   1. pertaining to tension, as of the muscles.

   2. marked by continued muscular tension.

      a tonic spasm.

4. using differences in tone or pitch to distinguish between words that are otherwise phonemically identical.

   a tonic language.

5. pertaining to tone or accent in speech.

6. Phonetics. (of a syllable) bearing the principal stress or accent, usually accompanied by a change in pitch.

7. Music.

   1. of or relating to a tone or tones.

   2. pertaining to or founded on the keynote, or first tone, of a musical scale.

      a tonic chord.

-tonic ² American  

1. a combining form occurring in adjectives that correspond to nouns ending in -tonia:

   catatonic.

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tonic British  

/ ˈtɒnɪk /

noun

1. a medicinal preparation intended to improve and strengthen the functioning of the body or increase the feeling of wellbeing

2. anything that enlivens or strengthens

   his speech was a tonic to the audience

3. Also called: tonic water.  a mineral water, usually carbonated and containing quinine and often mixed with gin or other alcoholic drinks

4. music

   1. the first degree of a major or minor scale and the tonal centre of a piece composed in a particular key

   2. a key or chord based on this

5. a stressed syllable in a word

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adjective

1. serving to enliven and invigorate

   a tonic wine

2. of or relating to a tone or tones

3. music of or relating to the first degree of a major or minor scale

4. of or denoting the general effect of colour and light and shade in a picture

5. physiol of, relating to, characterized by, or affecting normal muscular or bodily tone

   a tonic spasm

6. of or relating to stress or the main stress in a word

7. denoting a tone language

Regionalisms

See soda pop.

Other Word Forms

• antitonic adjective
• nontonic adjective
• pretonic noun
• tonically adverb

Etymology

Origin of tonic¹

First recorded in 1640–50, tonic is from the Greek word tonikós pertaining to stretching or tones. See tone, -ic

Origin of -tonic²

tonic