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overtone definition

over·tone (ō′vər tōn′)

noun

  1. Acoustics, Music any of the attendant higher tones heard with a fundamental tone produced by the vibration of a given string or column of air, having a frequency of vibration that is an exact multiple of the frequency of the fundamental
  2. an implication; nuance: usually used in pl. a reply full of overtones

Etymology: transl. of Ger oberton, contr. < oberpartialton, upper partial tone

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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