OriginBorrowed from Latin tonus (“strain, tension”). Doublet of tone.
- countable, uncountabletonicity; tone
“muscular tonus”
“The amount of stretch possible increases with the range in the joint and decreases with the cross section of the muscle and the amount of tonus or contraction in these antagonists .”
“Dr. H. S. Sullivan, for example, is known to many for his acute understanding of the postural tonuses of his patients.”
- countable, uncountableA tonal system or mode used in Gregorian chant.
“Aurelian associates antiphons and toni of the plain chant, so that the octave-based Pythagorean scale is exemlified by means of the liturgical chant, with the outstanding consequence that church music”
Formstonuses(plural) · toni(plural)