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, adjectiveWords nearby diapason
diana complex,
diandrous,
dianoetic,
dianoia,
dianthus,
diapason,
diapason normal pitch,
diapause,
diapedesis,
diapente,
diaper
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)
- 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)
- a tuning fork or pitch pipe
(in classical Greece) an octave
Derived forms of diapason
diapasonal or diapasonic (ˌdaɪəpeɪˈzɒnɪk, -ˈsɒn-), adjectiveWord Origin for diapason
C14: from Latin: the whole octave, from Greek: (
hē)
dia pasōn (
khordōn sumphōnia) (concord) through all (the notes), from
dia through +
pas all