Etymology

overtone

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Today it means: A tone whose frequency is an integer multiple of another; a member of the harmonic series. Full definition →

First used 1867German Oberton
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The story

  1. German · calque ofOberton
  2. English todayovertone

From over- + tone, calque of German Oberton.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1867 A tone whose frequency is an integer multiple of another; a member of the harmonic series.
  • from 1890 An implicit message (in a film, book, verbal discussion, or similar) perceived as overwhelming the explicit message.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.