*tonic*

n. [ Cf. F. architectonique. ] 1. The science of architecture. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of arranging knowledge into a system. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. architectonicus, Gr. &unr_;. See Architect. ] 1. Pertaining to a master builder, or to architecture; evincing skill in designing or construction; constructive. “Architectonic wisdom.” Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

These architectonic functions which we had hitherto thought belonged. J. C. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Relating to the systemizing of knowledge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The science of architecture. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. atonique. See Atony. ] 1. (Med.) Characterized by atony, or lack of vital energy; as, an atonic disease. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Gram.) Unaccented; as, an atonic syllable. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Destitute of tone vocality; surd. Rush. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Gram.) A word that has no accent. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An element of speech entirely destitute of vocality, or produced by the breath alone; a nonvocal or surd consonant; a breathing. Rush. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Med.) A remedy capable of allaying organic excitement or irritation. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 lack of normal muscular tension or tonus.
Syn. -- atony. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. of or pertaining to catatonia; suffering from catatonia. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. appearing mentally stupefied, unresponsive, and motionless, or almost so; seemingly unaware of one's environment. [ Colloq. ] [ PJC ]

n. a person suffering from catatonia. [ PJC ]

a. (Physics) Relating to, or characterized by, catelectrotonus. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to, or derived from, a plant of the genus Croton, or from croton oil. [ 1913 Webster ]

Crotonic acid (Chem.), a white crystalline organic acid, C3H5.CO2H, of the ethylene, or acrylic acid series. It was so named because formerly supposed to exist in croton oil. Also, any acid metameric with crotonic acid proper. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The acid characteristic of croton oil is tiglic or tiglinic acid, a derivative of crotonic acid. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. diatonicus, diatonus, Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, fr. &unr_; to stretch out; dia` through + &unr_; to stretch: cf. F. diatonique. See Tone. ] (Mus.) Pertaining to the scale of eight tones, the eighth of which is the octave of the first. [ 1913 Webster ]

Diatonic scale (Mus.), a scale consisting of eight sounds with seven intervals, of which two are semitones and five are whole tones; a modern major or minor scale, as distinguished from the chromatic scale. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a diatonic manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. (Physics) Of or pertaining to electrical tension; -- said of a supposed peculiar condition of a conducting circuit during its exposure to the action of another conducting circuit traversed by a uniform electric current when both circuits remain stationary. Faraday. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Physiol.) Relating to electrotonus; as, the electrotonic condition of a nerve. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; strained, fr. &unr_; to strain. See Entasis. ] (Med.) Having great tension, or exaggerated action. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, eupittone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. hyper- + tonic. ] (Physiology, Biochemistry) Having a higher osmotic pressure than a comparison solution; -- of an aqueous solution. Increasing the concentration of dissolved solids increases the osmotic pressure, and thus the tonicity of a solution. Opposite of hypotonic and contrasting with isotonic. [ wns=1 ] [ PJC ]

A knowledge of the colligative properties of solutions . . . is essential for one to understand fully the principles involved in rendering intravenous solutions isotonic with blood serum, or opthalmic solutions isotonic with lachrymal fluid. Solutions thus adjusted produce less shock and much less irritation than those which are hypotonic or hypertonic, and present-day practise recognizes the desirability of making the necessary adjustments whenever possible. Cook & Martin (Remington's Practice of Pharmacy, Tenth Ed.: Mack Publ., Easton Pa., 1951)

2. Specifically: Having an osmotic pressure greater than that of blood plasma, which is approximately that of a 0.2 normal solution of sodium chloride. Cells taken from a medium of normal physiological osmolality and placed in a hypertonic medium will shrink. [ wns=1 ] [ PJC ]

3. in a state of abnormally high tension; -- of muscle. [ wns=2 ]
Syn. -- pumped-up. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Iso- + tonic. ] 1. Having or indicating, equal tones, or tension. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Physiology, Biochemistry) Having an osmotic pressure (tonicity) equal to that of a reference solution; -- of aqueous solutions. Contrasting with hypotonic and hypertonic. See hypertonic. [ PJC ]

A knowledge of the colligative properties of solutions . . . is essential for one to understand fully the principles involved in rendering intravenous solutions isotonic with blood serum, or opthalmic solutions isotonic with lachrymal fluid. Solutions thus adjusted produce less shock and much less irritation than those which are hypotonic or hypertonic, and present-day practise recognizes the desirability of making the necessary adjustments whenever possible. Cook & Martin (Remington's Practice of Pharmacy, Tenth Ed.: Mack Publ., Easton Pa., 1951)

Isotonic system (Mus.), a system consisting of intervals, in which each concord is alike tempered, and in which there are twelve equal semitones. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, a ketone; as, a ketonic acid. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Lactone. ] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, a lactone. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Lactose. ] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid obtained by the oxidation of milk sugar (lactose). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Mus.), The natural diatonic scale, which has semitones between the third and fourth, and seventh and eighth notes, and whole tones between the other notes; the scale of the major mode, of which the third is major; also called major scale. See Scale, and Diatonic. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

a. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, maltose; specif., designating an acid called also gluconic or dextronic acid. See Gluconic. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. métonique. ] Pertaining to, or discovered by, Meton, the Athenian. [ 1913 Webster ]

Metonic year or
Metonic cycle. (Astron.) See under Cycle. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. a. Of, pertaining to, or resembling, Milton, or his writings; as, Miltonic prose. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. 1. Of, pertaining to, or uttered in, a monotone; monotonous. “Monotonical declamation.” Chesterfield. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Math.) Always increasing or always decreasing, as the value of the independent variable increases; -- of a function. [ PJC ]

a. Of, pertaining to, or resembling, Neoplatonism or the Neoplatonists. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A Neoplatonist. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. (Math. or logic) not monotonic; -- of relations between variables. Opposite of monotonic. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. (Gr. Gram.) Oxytone. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pan- + Teutonic. ] Of or pertaining to all the Teutonic races. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Geol.) A geological theory which holds that the crust of the earth (the lithosphere) is divided into a small number of large separate plates which float and move slowly around on the more plastic asthenosphere, breaking apart and moving away from each other at points where magma upwells from below, and, driven by such upwellings and other currents on the athenosphere, sliding past each other, colliding with each other, and in some cases being submerged (subducted) one below the other. This theory is now widely accepted, and explains many geological phenomena such as the clustered locations of earthquakes, mountain building, volcanism, and the similarities observed between the geology of continents, such as South America and Africa which are now far apart, but, according to the theory, were once joined together. The motions of such tectonic plates are very slow, typically only several centimeters per year, but over tens and hundreds of millions of years, cause very large changes in the relative positions of the continents. The consequence of such movement of plates is called continental drift. [ PJC ]

n. A follower of Plato; a Platonist. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. Platonicus, Gr. &unr_;: cf. F. platonique. ] 1. Of or pertaining to Plato, or his philosophy, school, or opinions. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Pure, passionless; nonsexual; philosophical. [ 1913 Webster ]

Platonic bodies, the five regular geometrical solids; namely, the tetrahedron, hexahedron or cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron. --
Platonic love, a pure, spiritual affection, subsisting between persons of opposite sex, unmixed with carnal desires, and regarding the mind only and its excellences; -- a species of love for which Plato was a warm advocate. --
Platonic year (Astron.), a period of time determined by the revolution of the equinoxes, or the space of time in which the stars and constellations return to their former places in respect to the equinoxes; -- called also great year. This revolution, which is caused by the precession of the equinoxes, is accomplished in about 26, 000 years. Barlow. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a Platonic manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. plutonique. See Pluto. ] 1. Of or pertaining to Pluto; Plutonian; hence, pertaining to the interior of the earth; subterranean. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of, pertaining to, or designating, the system of the Plutonists; igneous; as, the Plutonic theory. [ 1913 Webster ]

Plutonic action (Geol.), the influence of volcanic heat and other subterranean forces under pressure. --
Plutonic rocks (Geol.), granite, porphyry, and some other igneous rocks, supposed to have consolidated from a melted state at a great depth from the surface. Cf. Intrusive rocks, under Intrusive. --
Plutonic theory. (Geol.) See Plutonism. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, an acid (distinct from santoninic acid) obtained from santonin as a white crystalline substance. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a semitone; consisting of a semitone, or of semitones. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; an army. ] Of or pertaining to an army. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Phonetics) Applied to, or distinguishing, a speech element consisting of tone, or proper vocal sound, not pure as in the vowels, but dimmed and otherwise modified by some kind of obstruction in the oral or the nasal passage, and in some cases with a mixture of breath sound; -- a term introduced by Dr. James Rush in 1833. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§155, 199-202. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Phonetics) A subtonic sound or element; a vocal consonant, as b, d, g, n, etc.; a subvocal. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mus.) The seventh tone of the scale, or that immediately below the tonic; -- called also subsemitone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Mus.) The note next above the keynote; the second of the scale. Busby. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Physics) Of or pert. to syntony; specif., designating, or pert. to, a system of wireless telegraphy in which the transmitting and receiving apparatus are in syntony with, and only with, one another. -- Syn*ton"ic*al a. -- Syn*ton"ic*al*ly, adv. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. tectonicus, Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_;, &unr_;, a carpenter, builder. ] 1. Of or pertaining to building or construction; architectural. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Biol.) Structural. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. (Geol. & Phys. Geog.) Of, pert. to, or designating, the rock structures and external forms resulting from the deformation of the earth's crust; as, tectonic arches or valleys; tectonic plates. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

n. 1. The science, or the art, by which implements, vessels, dwellings, or other edifices, are constructed, both agreeably to the end for which they are designed, and in conformity with artistic sentiments and ideas. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Geol. & Phys. Geog.) the branch of geology concerned with the rock structures and external forms resulting from the deformation of the earth's crust; also, similar studies of other planets. Also called structural geology. [ PJC ]

plate tectonics a geological theory which considers the earth's crust as divided into a number of large relatively rigid plates, which move relatively independently on the more plastic asthenosphere under the influence of magmatic upwellings, so as to drift apart, slide past, or collide with each other, causing the formation, breakup, or merging of continents, and causing volcanism, the building of mountain ranges, and the subduction of one plate beneath another. In recent decades a large body of data have accumulated to support the theory and provide some details of the mechanisms at work. One set of supporting observations consists of data showing that the continents have slowly moved relative to each other over long periods of time, a phenomenon called continental drift. Africa and South America, for example, have apparently moved apart from a connected configuration at about 2 to 3 cm per year over tens of millions of years. [ PJC ]

a. [ L. Teutonicus, from Teutoni, or Teutones. See Teuton. ] 1. Of or pertaining to the Teutons, esp. the ancient Teutons; Germanic. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of or pertaining to any of the Teutonic languages, or the peoples who speak these languages. [ 1913 Webster ]

Teutonic languages, a group of languages forming a division of the Indo-European, or Aryan, family, and embracing the High German, Low German, Gothic, and Scandinavian dialects and languages. --
Teutonic order, a military religious order of knights, established toward the close of the twelfth century, in imitation of the Templars and Hospitalers, and composed chiefly of Teutons, or Germans. The order rapidly increased in numbers and strength till it became master of all Prussia, Livonia, and Pomerania. In its decay it was abolished by Napoleon; but it has been revived as an honorary order. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The language of the ancient Germans; the Teutonic languages, collectively. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A mode of speech peculiar to the Teutons; a Teutonic idiom, phrase, or expression; a Teutonic mode or custom; a Germanism. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. tonigue, Gr. &unr_;. See Tone. ] 1. Of or relating to tones or sounds; specifically (Phon.), applied to, or distingshing, a speech sound made with tone unmixed and undimmed by obstruction, such sounds, namely, the vowels and diphthongs, being so called by Dr. James Rush (1833) “ from their forming the purest and most plastic material of intonation.” [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of or pertaining to tension; increasing tension; hence, increasing strength; as, tonic power. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Med.) Increasing strength, or the tone of the animal system; obviating the effects of debility, and restoring healthy functions. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Med.) Characterized by continuous muscular contraction; as, tonic convulsions. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Tonic spasm. (Med.) See the Note under Spasm. [ 1913 Webster ]