overtone

[ oh-ver-tohn ]

/ ˈoʊ vərˌtoʊn /

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noun

Music. an acoustical frequency that is higher in frequency than the fundamental.

an additional, usually subsidiary and implicit meaning or quality: an aesthetic theory with definite political overtones.

Nearby words

overthrust belt, overtime, overtire, overtired, overtly, overtone, overtook, overtop, overtopping, overtrade, overtrick

Origin of overtone

1865–70; translation of German Oberton. See over-, tone

SYNONYMS FOR overtone

2 insinuation, suggestion, intimation, hint.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR overtone ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for overtone

When the second overtone is blown (Fig. 136, 3) a third node forms.
How it Works|Archibald Williams
Accordingly, if a stopped pipe gives as its fundamental the note C, its first overtone will be the fifth above the octave or G'.
Hertzian Wave Wireless Telegraphy|John Ambrose Fleming
“The pineapple ice is the twelfth overtone,” replied Mr. Dubbe.
The So-called Human Race|Bert Leston Taylor
The fundamental tone had not reached him in the garden but the first overtone, an octave above it, had.
Resonance in Singing and Speaking|Thomas Fillebrown

But there is still the overtone of sadness in the Easter music which might even become a note of irony.
Nine O'Clock Talks|Frederic B. Kellogg

British Dictionary definitions for overtone

overtone

/ (ˈəʊvəˌtəʊn) /

noun

(often plural) additional meaning or nuanceovertones of despair

music acoustics any of the tones, with the exception of the fundamental, that constitute a musical sound and contribute to its quality, each having a frequency that is a multiple of the fundamental frequencySee also harmonic (def. 7), partial (def. 6)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012