tonic sol-fa

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noun

a system of singing characterized by emphasis upon tonality or key relationship, in which tones are indicated by the initial letters of the syllables of the sol-fa system rather than by conventional staff notation.

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Origin of tonic sol-fa

First recorded in 1850–55

Words nearby tonic sol-fa

tonic convulsion, tonic epilepsy, tonicity, tonicoclonic, tonic pupil, tonic sol-fa, tonic spasm, tonight, tonk, tonka bean, Tonkin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tonic sol-fa in a sentence

Ortho Sol makes precision screws for the most delicate of construction projects: spinal fusion.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’|The Center for Investigative Reporting|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Except for nine of them are musical words: do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti—and si—are musical.
Well, La Ti Da: Stephin Merritt’s Winning Little Words of Scrabble|David Bukszpan|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Webb comes across with a clarity of expression that is rare for a politician and that the voters might find a welcome tonic.
Wait a Minute, Clinton Coronators—Here Comes Jim Webb|Eleanor Clift|September 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To earn a spot on the trip, each participant agreed to raise a minimum of $1,000 to fund critical initiatives at Ninos del Sol.
Motherless Daughters and Parentless Parents Trek to the Andes to Aid Orphans|Allison Gilbert|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Last year, at the less than spry age of 34, he broke two bones in his back while leading his Everton team to an FA Cup win.
Team USA Lost, but Tim Howard Is a Winner|Emily Shire|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sol laughed out of his whiskers, with a big, loose-rolling sound, and sat on the porch without waiting to be asked.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
Sol got up, slowly; took a backward step into the yard; filled his lungs, opened his mouth, made his eyes round.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
It was such a magnificent sum that Sol did not feel like taking the familiarity with it of mentioning it aloud.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
“It looks better than any house around here now, since you fixed it up and painted it,” said Sol.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
“Well, mistakes is humant,” sighed Sol, taking advantage of that universal absolution.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden

British Dictionary definitions for tonic sol-fa

tonic sol-fa

noun

a method of teaching music, esp singing, used mainly in Britain, by which the syllables of a movable system of solmization are used as names for the notes of the major scale in any key. In this system sol is usually replaced by so as the name of the fifth degreeSee solmization

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