Etymologically
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tune

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /tʃuːn/, /tjuːn/ (UK); /tuːn/, /tjuːn/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English tune, an unexplained variant of tone.[2][3][4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A musical sound or tone: before 1325 in Barnhart,[2] the early 14th century in Etymonline.[4]

Semantic evolution

A succession of musical tones, an air or melody, now the chief meaning, is first recorded before 1387 in Trevisa's translation of Higden's Polychronicon.[2][7] Agreement in pitch, chiefly in the phrases in tune and out of tune, is from about 1440,[2] replacing earlier in tone;[4] the figurative sense, harmony or agreement, is from 1535.[2] To the tune of, to the amount of, is from 1716.[2] The verb meant first to give out a musical sound, about 1500, and to put into correct pitch from 1505;[2] figuratively, to put in proper condition, from the 1520s, and to adjust a machine from 1814.[4] To tune a radio receiver is by 1887, tune in from 1913, and tune out, to stop paying attention, from 1928.[4]

Timeline

  • before 1325 – a musical sound.[2]
  • before 1387 – a melody.[2][7]
  • c. 1440 – in tune.[2]
  • 1505 – to put in pitch.[2]
  • 1716 – to the tune of.[2]
  • 1913 – tune in.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A melody, especially a simple and memorable one; a song.
  2. Correct musical pitch: in tune.
  3. Agreement or harmony: in tune with the times.

Verb

  1. To adjust a musical instrument to the correct pitch.
  2. To adjust an engine or machine for best performance.
  3. To adjust a receiver to a particular frequency or station.

Word family

  • mistune
  • retune
  • tunable
  • tuneable
  • untune
  • tuneful
  • tuneless
  • tunesmith

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press