intonation definition | Dictionary.com

in⋅to⋅na⋅tion

[in-toh-ney-shuh

n, -tuh-]

–noun

1.	the pattern or melody of pitch changes in connected speech, esp. the pitch pattern of a sentence, which distinguishes kinds of sentences or speakers of different language cultures.

2.	the act or manner of intonating.

3.	the manner of producing musical tones, specifically the relation in pitch of tones to their key or harmony.

4.	something that is intoned or chanted.

5.	the opening phrase in a Gregorian chant, usually sung by one or two voices.

Origin:
1610–20; < ML intonātiōn- (s. of intonātiō). See intonate, -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : intonation

Spanish:

entonación,

German:

der Tonfall,

Japanese:

抑揚

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in·to·na·tion (ĭn'tə-nā'shən, -tō-) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. The act of intoning or chanting.
2. An intoned utterance.
A manner of producing or uttering tones, especially with regard to accuracy of pitch.
Linguistics The use of changing pitch to convey syntactic information: a questioning intonation.
A use of pitch characteristic of a speaker or dialect: "He could hear authority, the old parish intonation coming back into his voice" (Graham Greene).
Music The opening phrase of a plainsong composition sung as a solo part.

in'to·na'tion·al adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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intonation
noun
1.	rise and fall of the voice pitch
2.	singing by a soloist of the opening piece of plainsong
3.	the act of singing in a monotonous tone
4.	the production of musical tones (by voice or instrument); especially the exactitude of the pitch relations

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Intonation

In`to*na"tion\, n. [See 1st Intonate.] A thundering; thunder. [Obs.] --Bailey.

Intonation

In`to*na"tion\, n. [Cf. F. intonation. See Intone.] (Mus.) (a) The act of sounding the tones of the musical scale. (b) Singing or playing in good tune or otherwise; as, her intonation was false. (c) Reciting in a musical prolonged tone; intonating, or singing of the opening phrase of a plain-chant, psalm, or canticle by a single voice, as of a priest. See Intone, v. t.

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