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tonic

 - 12 dictionary results
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ton⋅ic

  [ton-ik]
Use tonic in a Sentence
–noun
1. a medicine that invigorates or strengthens: a tonic of sulphur and molasses.
2. anything invigorating physically, mentally, or morally: His cheerful greeting was a real tonic.
3. quinine water.
4. Music. the first degree of the scale; the keynote.
5. Chiefly Eastern New England. soda pop.
6. Phonetics. a tonic syllable or accent.
–adjective
7. pertaining to, maintaining, increasing, or restoring the tone or health of the body or an organ, as a medicine.
8. invigorating physically, mentally, or morally.
9. Physiology, Pathology.
a. pertaining to tension, as of the muscles.
b. marked by continued muscular tension: a tonic spasm.
10. using differences in tone or pitch to distinguish between words that are otherwise phonemically identical: a tonic language.
11. pertaining to tone or accent in speech.
12. Phonetics. (of a syllable) bearing the principal stress or accent, usually accompanied by a change in pitch.
13. Music.
a. of or pertaining to a tone or tones.
b. pertaining to or founded on the keynote, or first tone, of a musical scale: a tonic chord.
Origin:
1640–50; < Gk tonikós pertaining to stretching or tones. See tone, -ic

Related forms:
ton⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
2. stimulant, restorative, bracer, pickup.

Regional variation note:
5. See soda pop.
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-tonic

 
a combining form occurring in adjectives that correspond to nouns ending in -tonia: catatonic.
Origin:
see tonic

quinine water

 
–noun
carbonated water containing lemon, lime, sweetener, and quinine, often used as a mixer.
Also called tonic, tonic water.

Origin:
1950–55
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tonic
soft drink  
n.   In both senses also called soda pop; also called regionally cold drink, drink, pop1, soda, soda water, tonic.

  1. A nonalcoholic, flavored, carbonated beverage, usually commercially prepared and sold in bottles or cans.

  2. A serving of this beverage. See Regional Note at tonic.

ton·ic   (tŏn'ĭk)   
n.  

  1. An agent, such as a medication, that restores or increases body tone.

  2. An invigorating, refreshing, or restorative agent or influence.

  3. See tonic water.

  4. Boston See soft drink.

  5. Music The first note of a diatonic scale; the keynote.

  6. Linguistics A tonic accent.

adj.  

  1. Producing or stimulating physical, mental, or emotional vigor.

    1. Physiology Of, relating to, or producing tone or tonicity in muscles or tissue: a tonic reflex.

    2. Medicine Characterized by continuous tension or contraction of muscles: a tonic convulsion or spasm.

  3. Music Of or based on the keynote.

  4. Stressed, as a syllable; accented.


[New Latin tonicus, of tension or tone, from Greek tonikos, capable of extension, from tonos, a stretching, tone; see tone.]
ton'i·cal·ly adv.
Generic terms for carbonated soft drinks vary widely in the United States. Probably the two most common words competing for precedence are soda, used in the northeast United States as well as St. Louis and vicinity, and pop, used from the Midwest westward. In the South any soft drink, regardless of flavor or brand name, is referred to as a Coke, cold drink, or just plain drink. Speakers in Boston and its environs have a term of their own: tonic. Such a variety of regional equivalents is unusual for a product for which advertising is so aggressive and universal; usually advertising has the effect of squeezing out regional variants. On the other hand, there are so many types and flavors of soft drinks that perhaps no single generic word has ever emerged to challenge the regionalisms. See Note at dope.
tonic water  
n.  A carbonated beverage flavored with quinine. Also called quinine water, tonic.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
tonic

  1. n.
    liquor. : Just a bit of tonic. I'm cutting down.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

tonic  (adj.)
1649, "relating to or characterized by muscular tension," from Gk. tonikos "of stretching," from tonos "a stretching" (see tenet). The meaning "maintaining the healthy firmness of tissues" is recorded from 1684, first extended 1756 to "having the property of restoring to health." The noun meaning "a tonic medicine" is attested from 1799. The musical sense is first attested 1760, from tone (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1ton·ic
Pronunciation: 'tän-ik
Function: adjective
1 a : characterized by tonus <tonic contraction ofmuscle>; also : marked by or being prolonged muscular contraction <tonic convulsions> b : producing or adapted to produce healthy muscular condition andreaction of organs (as muscles)
2 a : increasing or restoring physical or mental tone b : yielding a tonic substance —ton·i·cal·ly /'tän-i-k(&-)lE/ adverb

Main Entry: 2tonic
Function: noun
: an agent (as a drug) that increases body tone
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

tonic ton·ic (tŏn'ĭk)
adj.

  1. Of or producing tone or tonicity in muscles or tissue.

  2. Characterized by continuous tension or contraction of muscles, as a convulsion or spasm.

  3. Producing or stimulating physical, mental, or emotional vigor.

n.
An agent, such as a medication, that restores or increases body tone.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

tonic

in music, the first note (degree) of any diatonic (e.g., major or minor) scale. It is the most important degree of the scale, serving as the focus for both melody and harmony. The term tonic may also refer to the tonic triad, the chord built in thirds from the tonic note (as C-E-G in C major). See also tonality.

Learn more about tonic with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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