diapason

American  

[dahy-uh-pey-zuhn, -suhn] / ˌdaɪ əˈpeɪ zən, -sən /

noun

Music.

1. a full, rich outpouring of melodious sound.

2. the compass of a voice or instrument.

3. a fixed standard of pitch.

4. 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.

5. any of several other organ stops.

6. a tuning fork.

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diapason British  

/ -ˈsɒn-, -ˈpeɪsən, ˌdaɪəpeɪˈzɒnɪk, ˌdaɪəˈpeɪzən /

noun

1. either of two stops ( open and stopped diapason ) usually found throughout the compass of a pipe organ that give it its characteristic tone colour

2. the compass of an instrument or voice

3. 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

4. (in classical Greece) an octave

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subdiapason
  noun
• subdiapasonal
  adjective
• diapasonal
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of diapason

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English diapasoun, dyapason, from Latin diapāsōn “the whole octave,” from Greek dià pāsôn (chordôn) “through all (the notes),” short for hē dià pāsôn chordôn symphōnía “the concord through all the notes of the scale”

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