tetrachord

[ te-truh-kawrd ]

/ ˈtɛ trəˌkɔrd /

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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. 2021

How to use tetrachord in a sentence

Within each tetrachord the intervals depend upon the Genus (genos).
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music|David Binning Monro
That is to say, the tetrachord b c d e is not written , but : and d e♭ f g is not , but .
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music|David Binning Monro
In ancient language, the tetrachord Synmmenn (a-b♭-c-d) takes the place of the tetrachord Diezeugmenn.
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music|David Binning Monro
In practice it appears that musicians tuned the tetrachord b-e of this scale with the Pythagorean two Major tones and leimma.
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music|David Binning Monro

In this case, as the pyknon forms the lower part of a tetrachord, there are two possibilities.
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music|David Binning Monro

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