GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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1.       
   Diatonic (dīȧtŏnĭk), a. [L. diatonicus, diatonus, Gr. , , fr.  to stretch out; διά through +  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.
   
   [1913 Webster]
   
   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.
   
   [1913 Webster]