meantone system

American

[meen-tohn] / ˈminˌtoʊn /

noun

Music.

a system for tuning keyboard instruments, used before the development of tuning by equal temperament and considered practical only for tonalities of not more than two sharps or flats.

First recorded in 1790–1800; mean ³ + tone

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023