tonewheel

T1O1N1E1W4H4E1E1L1

noun

A mechanical apparatus, used principally in Hammond organs, that converts the spinning movement of an electric motor into electronic musical notes.

OriginEnglish wheel ← Middle English whel ← Old English hwēol →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

nountonewheel (plural tonewheels)

plural tonewheels

  1. A mechanical apparatus, used principally in Hammond organs, that converts the spinning movement of an electric motor into electronic musical notes.

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*kʷelh₁-redup.
  9. Proto-Indo-European*kʷekʷléh₂
  10. Proto-Germanic*hweulō
  11. Old Englishhwēol
  12. Middle Englishwhel
  13. Englishwheel
  14. Englishtonewheel

From tone + wheel.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tonewheel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonewheel

MLA

“tonewheel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonewheel. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tonewheel,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonewheel.

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