Tonal

Pronunciation

• GenAm IPA: /ˈtoÊŠnÉ™l/
• RP IPA: /ˈtəʊnÉ™l/
• Rhymes: -əʊnÉ™l

tone + -al

Full definition of tonal

Adjective

1. Of or relating to tones or tonality.
2. (music) Employing tones that have a predictable relationship to some tonic.
3. (linguistics) Employing differences in pitch (tones) to distinguish differences in the meaning of otherwise similar words (words which would otherwise be homophonic).

Antonyms

• atonal

Related terms

• tonality
• tonally

From Nahuatl tōnalli ("day, day sign")

Alternative forms

• tona, tonalli

Noun

1. (in Mesoamerican mythology) An animal companion which accompanies a person from birth to death.
• 1989, Robert Bartley Taylor, Indians of Middle America: an introduction to the ethnology of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, page 122:When a tonal suffers misfortune or death, the same thing happens to the person associated with it.

Anagrams

• Alton
• laton
• talon