diapason

See also diapasón

English

Etymology

Latin diapason, from Ancient Greek διαπασων, that is διά + πασων (χορδων) ‘through all (notes)’.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dʌɪəˈpeɪzən/, /dʌɪəˈpeɪsən/
• Rhymes: -eɪzən, -eɪsən

Noun

diapason (plural diapasons)

1. the range or scope of something, especially of notes in a scale, or of a particular musical instrument

   • 1934: the piano curving like a conch, corollas giving out diapasons of light — Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer
   • 1961: he could hear nothing except the rattle of the crickets and the swelling diapason of the frogs — Graham Greene, A Burnt-Out Case

---

French

Etymology

Latin diapason, from Ancient Greek διαπασων, that is διά + πασων (χορδων) ‘through all (notes)’.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /djapazɔ̃/

Noun

diapason m

1. (music) range, diapason
2. a tuning fork