Where does “tone” come from?
tone (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Old Norse tóni, from Latin tonus, from Ancient Greek τόνος, from Proto-Hellenic tónos, from Proto-Indo-European tónos, from Proto-Indo-European ten- — to stretch, to extend.
tone (Norwegian Bokmål): a tone
Ancestry of “tone”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | tóni | — |
| 2 | Latin | tonus | The stretching or straining of a rope; A strain;... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | τόνος | rope, cord; chord; tone, note |
| 4 | Proto-Hellenic | tónos | rope, cord; tension |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | tónos | something stretched; chord, fiber, string |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ten- | to stretch, to extend |