Etymology

heptatonic

H4E1P3T1A1T1O1N1I1C3

Today it means: Describing a mode or scale that has seven pitches in an octave Full definition →

English tonic ← Ancient Greek τονῐκός (tonĭkós) ← Proto-Hellenic *tónos
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The story

  1. Proto-Afroasiatic*sṗɣ?
  2. Proto-Semitic*šabʕ-bor.?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*septḿ̥
  4. Proto-Hellenic*heptə́
  5. Ancient Greekἑπτᾰ́ (heptắ)
  6. Englishhepta-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*ten-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*tónos
  9. Proto-Hellenic*tónos
  10. Ancient Greekτόνος (tónos)
  11. Ancient Greekτονῐκός (tonĭkós)
  12. Englishtonic
  13. English todayheptatonic

From hepta- + tonic.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.