Diatonic (dī&adot_;t&obreve_;n&ibreve_;k), a. [L. diatonicus, diatonus, Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, fr. &unr_; to stretch out; dia through + &unr_; to stretch: cf. F. diatonique. See Tone.] (Mus.) Pertaining to the scale of eight tones, the eighth of which is the octave of the first.
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Diatonic scale (Mus.), a scale consisting of eight sounds with seven intervals, of which two are semitones and five are whole tones; a modern major or minor scale, as distinguished from the chromatic scale.
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