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.
Content
Rights and sources
Review source, license and attribution information for this content.
Content
Webster's Dictionary 1828
American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828.