diapason

[ dahy-uh-pey-zuh n, -suh n ]
/ ˌdaɪ əˈpeɪ zən, -sən /

noun Music.

a full, rich outpouring of melodious sound.
the compass of a voice or instrument.
a fixed standard of pitch.
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).
any of several other organ stops.
a tuning fork.

Origin of diapason

1350–1400; Middle English diapasoun < Latin diapāsōn the whole octave < Greek dià pāsôn ( chordôn) through all (the notes), short for hē dià pāsôn chordôn symphōnía the concord through all the notes of the scale

OTHER WORDS FROM diapason

di·a·pa·son·al, adjective sub·di·a·pa·son, noun sub·di·a·pa·son·al, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for diapason

British Dictionary definitions for diapason

diapason
/ (ˌdaɪəˈpeɪzən, -ˈpeɪsən) /

noun music

either of two stops (open and stopped diapason) usually found throughout the compass of a pipe organ that give it its characteristic tone colour
the compass of an instrument or voice
(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
(in classical Greece) an octave

Derived forms of diapason

diapasonal or diapasonic (ˌdaɪəpeɪˈzɒnɪk, -ˈsɒn-), adjective

Word Origin for diapason

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