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tetrachord

[ te-truh-kawrd ]
/ ˈtɛ trəˌkɔrd /

noun Music.

a diatonic series of four tones, the first and last separated by a perfect fourth.

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Origin of tetrachord

First recorded in 1595–1605, tetrachord is from the Greek word tetráchordos having four strings. See tetra-, chord1

OTHER WORDS FROM tetrachord

tet·ra·chor·dal, adjective

Words nearby tetrachord

tetracene, tetrachloride, tetrachloroethane, tetrachloroethylene, tetrachloromethane, tetrachord, tetracid, tetracoccus, tetracosactide, tetracrotic, tetracyclic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for tetrachord

British Dictionary definitions for tetrachord

tetrachord
/ (ˈtɛtrəˌkɔːd) /

noun

(in musical theory, esp of classical Greece) any of several groups of four notes in descending order, in which the first and last notes form a perfect fourth

Derived forms of tetrachord

tetrachordal, adjective

Word Origin for tetrachord

C17: from Greek tetrakhordos four-stringed, from tetra- + khordē a string
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