Where does “tonality” come from?
Tonality comes from French tonalité, formed from Latin tonus meaning tension or tone, plus the Latin suffix -itas, ultimately deriving from the Ancient Greek verb τείνω meaning to stretch.
tonality (English): The system of seven tones built on a tonic key;...
Definitions
- The system of seven tones built on a tonic key;...
Ancestry of “tonality”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | tonalité | tonality |
| 2 | French | tonal | tonal |
| 3 | French | ton | Your, thy; Tone; Tone, shade |
| 4 | Old French | ton | your |
| 5 | Latin | tuus | your |
| 6 | Russian | туз | ace; bigwig; two-oar dinghy |
| 7 | Polish | tuz | ace; luminary, person of importance in their... |
| 8 | Polish | tu | here |
| 9 | Polish | być | to be |
| 10 | Polish | móc | to be able; may, might; to be allowed |
| 11 | Old Polish | móc | can, may, to be able to |
| 12 | Proto-Slavic | moťь | power |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | mógʰtis | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | meǵʰ- | to be able |