nete

N1E1T1E1

noun

In Ancient Greek musical theory, the highest-pitched fixed note in the farther tetrachord on a lyre, always pitched a perfect fourth above the paramese, with two movable notes between them, the trite (lower in pitch) and the paranete (higher in pitch). The paramese was higher-pitched than the mese (the highest-pitched fixed note in the nearer tetrachord on a lyre) by a ratio of 9:8.

OriginLatin nētē ← Ancient Greek νήτη →
Scrabble 4
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Meanings

nounnete (plural netes)

plural netes

  1. musical pitchIn Ancient Greek musical theory, the highest-pitched fixed note in the farther tetrachord on a lyre, always pitched a perfect fourth above the paramese, with two movable notes between them, the trite (lower in pitch) and the paranete (higher in pitch). The paramese was higher-pitched than the mese (the highest-pitched fixed note in the nearer tetrachord on a lyre) by a ratio of 9:8.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekνήτη
  2. Latinnētē
  3. Englishnete

Unadapted borrowing from Latin nētē, from Ancient Greek νήτη (nḗtē, literally “lowest [string]”). It was "lowest" in the sense of being the farthest from the player and physically below the other strings, but was the highest in pitch. Compare the high E string in a modern guitar, which is farthest from the player.

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

teenneet
Cite this entry
APA

nete. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nete

MLA

“nete.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nete. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nete,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nete.

Source: nete on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.