ˈtɔnɪk n. & adj. --n. 1 an invigorating
medicine. 2
anything serving to
invigorate. 3 = tonic
water. 4 Mus.
the first degree of a scale, forming the
keynote of a
piece (see KEYNOTE 3). --adj. 1 serving as a tonic; invigorating. 2 Mus. denoting the first degree of a scale. 3 a producing
tension,
esp. of the muscles. b restoring
normal tone to organs. øtonic
accent an accent
marked by a
change of pitch
within a
syllable. tonic
sol-fa Mus. a
system of
notation used esp. in
teaching singing,
with doh as the keynote of
all major keys
and lah as the keynote of all
minor keys. tonic
spasm continuous muscular contraction (cf. CLONUS). tonic water a carbonated
mineral water containing
quinine. øøtonically adv. [F tonique f. Gk tonikos (as TONE)]