Tone

tōn, n. the character of a sound: quality of the voice: harmony of the colours of a painting, also its characteristic or prevailing effect as due to the management of chiaroscuro and to the effect of light upon the quality of colour: ( phot. ) the shade or colour of a finished positive picture: ( gram. ) syllabic stre , special accent given to a syllable: character or style: state of mind: mood: a healthy state of the body.— v.t. to utter with an affected tone: to intone, to utter in a drawling way: to give tone or quality to, in respect either of sound or colour: to alter or modify the colour.— adj. Tō′nal .— n. Tonal′ity .— adjs. Toned , having a tone (in compounds); Tone′le .— Tone down , to give a lower tone to, to moderate, to soften, to harmonise the colours of as to light and shade, as a painting. [L. tonus —Gr. tonos , a sound— teinō , to stretch.]