toneme

T1O1N1E1M3E1
/ˈtəʊniːm/

noun

A phoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings.

OriginEnglish phonemeclip. ← Ancient Greek φώνημα (phṓnēma) ← Proto-Hellenic *pʰōnā́ →
Scrabble 8
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Meanings

nountoneme (plural tonemes)

plural tonemes

  1. human sciencesA phoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ten-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*tónos
  3. Proto-Hellenic*tónos
  4. Ancient Greekτόνος (tónos)
  5. Latintonus
  6. Middle Englishtone
  7. Englishtone
  8. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  9. Proto-Hellenic*pʰōnā́
  10. Ancient Greekφωνή (phōnḗ)
  11. Ancient Greekφωνέω (phōnéō)
  12. Ancient Greekφώνημα (phṓnēma)
  13. Englishphonemeclip.
  14. Englishtoneme

From tone + -eme.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian тоне́ма
  • тоне́ма (tonéma)phoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Dutch toneem
  • toneemphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Esperanto tonemo
  • tonemophoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Finnish toneemi
  • toneemiphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
French tonème
  • tonèmephoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
German Tonem
  • Tonemphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Hungarian tonéma
  • tonémaphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Italian tonema
  • tonemaphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Japanese 音調素
  • 音調素 (onchōso)phoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Malay tonem
  • tonemphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Norwegian tonelag, tonem
  • tonelagphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
  • tonemphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Polish tonem
  • tonemphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Portuguese tonema
  • tonemaphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Russian тоне́ма
  • тоне́ма (tonéma)phoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Spanish tonema
  • tonemaphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Swedish tonem
  • tonemphoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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