semitone

S1E1M3I1T1O1N1E1
/ˈsɛmitoʊn/

noun

One of two parts, equal or unequal, in which a whole tone is divided.

Similar
half stephalftone
OriginEnglish tone ← Middle English tone ← Latin tonus →
UncommonScrabble 10
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounsemitone (plural semitones)

plural semitones

  1. entertainmentOne of two parts, equal or unequal, in which a whole tone is divided.
    1. entertainmentThe semitone in 12-tone equal temperament, with frequency ratio of the twelfth root of two.
  2. broadlyentertainmentAny of the pitches of a chromatic scale.
  3. entertainmentAn interval equal to an augmented unison or a minor second, depending on the context and tuning system used.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
half stephalftone

nounthe musical interval between adjacent keys on a keyboard instrument

Similar
half step
Broader
intervalmusical interval
Also see
half stephalftone

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sem-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sēmi
  3. Latinsēmi-
  4. Englishsemi-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*ten-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*tónos
  7. Proto-Hellenic*tónos
  8. Ancient Greekτόνος (tónos)
  9. Latintonus
  10. Middle Englishtone
  11. Englishtone
  12. Englishsemitone

From semi- + tone.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque tonuerdi
  • tonuerdiinterval between adjacent keys
Catalan semitò
  • semitòinterval between adjacent keys
Chinese Cantonese 半音
  • 半音interval between adjacent keys
Chinese Mandarin 半音
  • 半音 (bànyīn)interval between adjacent keys
Czech půltón
  • půltóninterval between adjacent keys
Danish halvtone
  • halvtoneinterval between adjacent keys
Finnish puoliaskel, puolisävelaskel
  • puoliaskelinterval between adjacent keys
  • puolisävelaskelinterval between adjacent keys
French demi-ton
  • demi-toninterval between adjacent keys
German Halbton
  • Halbtoninterval between adjacent keys
Greek ημίτονος, ημιτόνιο
  • ημίτονος (imítonos)interval between adjacent keys
  • ημιτόνιο (imitónio)interval between adjacent keys
Hebrew חצי־טון
  • חצי־טון (khatsí ton)interval between adjacent keys
Hungarian félhang
  • félhanginterval between adjacent keys
Icelandic hálftónn
  • hálftónninterval between adjacent keys
Italian semitono
  • semitonointerval between adjacent keys
Japanese 半音
  • 半音 (han'on)interval between adjacent keys
Māori waehaurua
  • waehauruainterval between adjacent keys
Norwegian Bokmål halvtone
  • halvtoneinterval between adjacent keys
Persian نیمپرده
  • نیمپرده (nīmparde)interval between adjacent keys
Polish półton
  • półtoninterval between adjacent keys
Portuguese semitom, meio-tom
  • semitominterval between adjacent keys
  • meio-tominterval between adjacent keys
Romanian semiton
  • semitoninterval between adjacent keys
Russian полуто́н
  • полуто́н (polutón)interval between adjacent keys
Slovak poltón
  • poltóninterval between adjacent keys
Spanish semitono
  • semitonointerval between adjacent keys
Welsh hanner tôn
  • hanner tôninterval between adjacent keys
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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