An ulterior, usually implicit meaning or quality; an implication or a hint.
An overtone of anger barely masked; praise with overtones of envy.
noun
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(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.
The first overtone of the second will beat 64 times per second with the third of the first, and at such height in the scale this frequency will be unpleasant.
Unlike the lustrous shades of chocolate colored pearls, natural brown pearls are a warm black-brown color and sometimes have a very slight coppery colored overtone.
Thus, suppose a fundamental 256 has present with it overtone harmonics 512, 768, 1024, 1280, &c., and that we sound with it the major seventh with fundamental 480, and having harmonics 960, 1440, &c. The two sets may be arranged thus c 256 512 768 1024 1280 h 480 960 1440, and we see that the fundamental of the second will beat 32 times per second with the first overtone of the first, giving dissonance.