Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Linguistics A word that has a heavy stress or pitch accent on its penultimate syllable.
  • adjective Relating to or being a word that has a heavy stress or pitch accent on its penultimate syllable.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having the quality of a voice or instrument intermediate between a bass and a tenor: as, a barytone voice. See II.
  • In Greek grammar: Pronounced with the (theoretical) grave accent on the last syllable (see grave, a.); having the last syllable unaccented: as, a barytone word, such as τόνος.
  • Causing a word to be without accent on the final syllable: as, a barytone suffix.
  • noun In music: A male voice, the compass of which partakes of the bass and the tenor, but which does not descend so low as the one nor rise so high as the other.
  • noun A stringed instrument played with a bow, resembling the viola da gamba, called in Italian viola di bardone or bordone.
  • noun The name usually given to the smaller brass sax-horn in or C.
  • noun In Greek grammar, a word which has the last syllable unaccented.
  • In Greek grammar, to pronounce or write without accent on the last syllable: as, to barytone a word.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Mus.) Grave and deep, as a kind of male voice.
  • adjective (Greek Gram.) Not marked with an accent on the last syllable, the grave accent being understood.
  • noun A male voice, the compass of which partakes of the common bass and the tenor, but which does not descend as low as the one, nor rise as high as the other.
  • noun A person having a voice of such range.
  • noun The viola di gamba, now entirely disused.
  • noun (Greek Gram.) A word which has no accent marked on the last syllable, the grave accent being understood.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective linguistics Not having the acute accent on the final syllable of a word, especially with reference to Greek grammar
  • noun An alternative (and rare) form of baritone, a male voice or instrument with that range.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a male singer

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin barytonos, from Greek βαρύτονος ‘not oxytone’.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word barytone.

Examples

  • Still more curious was the form of viol known as the barytone, which, in addition to an outfit of six catgut strings upon the finger board, was furnished with twenty-four wire strings, stretched close under the sounding board, where they sounded by sympathetic vibration.

    A Popular History of the Art of Music From the Earliest Times Until the Present 1874

  • The prince was a great amateur of the peculiar viol called the barytone, and it was one of Haydn's duties to provide new compositions for this instrument.

    A Popular History of the Art of Music From the Earliest Times Until the Present 1874

  • Gantry, using his histrionic gifts and his "arousing barytone," latched onto the ministry because of the power it gave him over others.

    Birthday of a Preacher Man: 2007

  • A crude, profane, hard-drinking and oversexed football player from Paris, Kansas, Gantry latched onto the ministry because of the power it gave him over others, through the exercise of his histrionic gifts and his "arousing barytone."

    Lewis's Profane Preacher Wilfred M. McClay 2007

  • It was to this workman that the strong barytone belonged which was heard above the sound of plane and hammer singing —

    Adam Bede 2004

  • Look at this broad-shouldered man with the bare muscular arms, and the thick, firm, black hair tossed about like trodden meadow-grass whenever he takes off his paper cap, and with the strong barytone voice bursting every now and then into loud and solemn psalm-tunes, as if seeking an outlet for superfluous strength, yet presently checking himself, apparently crossed by some thought which jars with the singing.

    Adam Bede 2004

  • The voice is strong and clear, but rather barytone than bass: in anger it becomes a shrill chattering like the cry of a wild animal.

    Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah 2003

  • This went far enough for attention to the music and the barytone.

    The Portrait of a Lady 2003

  • David Bispham, the great barytone, always genial and generous, agreed to take part, and Clara Clemens, already accustomed to public singing, was to join in the program.

    Mark Twain: A Biography 2003

  • Having myself a well-marked barytone voice of more than half an octave in compass, I sometimes add my vocal powers to her execution of:

    The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 01, No. 03, January, 1858 Various

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.