semitone

American  

[sem-ee-tohn, sem-ahy-] / ˈsɛm iˌtoʊn, ˈsɛm aɪ- /

noun

Music.

1. a pitch interval halfway between two whole tones.

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semitone British  

/ ˌsɛmɪˈtɒnɪk, ˈsɛmɪˌtəʊn /

noun

1. Also called (US and Canadian): half step.  an interval corresponding to a frequency difference of 100 cents as measured in the system of equal temperament, and denoting the pitch difference between certain adjacent degrees of the diatonic scale ( diatonic semitone ) or between one note and its sharpened or flattened equivalent ( chromatic semitone ); minor second Compare whole tone

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Other Word Forms

• semitonal adjective
• semitonally adverb
• semitonic adjective

Etymology

Origin of semitone

First recorded in 1600–10; semi- + tone

Example Sentences

So if there’s 13 notes to the octave, a minor ninth or 13 semitones sounds like an octave when you play it on the keyboard.

From New York Times

What about his String Quartet No. 3, “Black Church,” from 1995: Can the way the players tear through sequences of semitones be seen as a tip of the hat to fast-picked streaks of electric-guitar blues?

From New York Times

The difference between them is less than a quarter of a semitone.

From Literature

An example of the transformed mood is the ending of the Carlos-Élisabeth duet, sung a semitone lower in the 1867 French.

From Seattle Times

Padel, whose previous collections include a verse biography of Darwin, here gives Beethoven the same treatment, summoning his “holy zone / of concentration” where “three descending semitones / say there is answer in the world.”

From New York Times