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American Dictionary of the English Language

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Diatonic


DIATONIC, adjective [Gr., by or through, sound.] Ascending or descending, as in sound, or from sound to sound. This epithet is given to a scale or gammut, to intervals of a certain kind, or to music composed of these intervals; as a diatonic series; a diatonic interval; diatonic melody or harmony. It is applied to ordinary music, containing only the two greater and lesser tones, and the greater semitone.