τονικός

Forms

τονῐκός (tonikós) m (feminine τονῐκή, neuter τονῐκόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos, “tension, pitch, accent”) + -ικός (-ikós).^[2][3][4] Etymonline traces τόνος (tónos) to Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Aristotle, in the Parts of Animals (4th century BC), uses it of birds that are strong in the wings, that is, able to stretch them.^[6][7][8]

Semantic evolution

Its senses follow those of τόνος (tónos).^[2][3] In music, τὸ τονικόν was one of the three forms of the chromatic scale, in Sextus Empiricus; in grammar it meant “of accents”, as in Apollonius Dyscolus's rules of accentuation.^[6][3] The Stoics used it of motion produced by tension, and Galen of the contracting action of muscles and of pepper as more strengthening to the stomach.^[6]

Latin borrowed it as tonicus.^[9] English tonic, first recorded in the 1640s in the sense “relating to muscular tension”, comes from it; the sense “strengthening, invigorating” developed in English later.^[5] Modern Greek τονικός (tonikós) is a learned word from the Hellenistic one, with senses taken from French tonal and tonique: it refers to word accent, musical tonality and the tone of muscles.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it of birds strong in the wings.^[6][8]
• 2nd century AD – Apollonius Dyscolus uses it of accents.^[6][8]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses it of the contraction of muscles and of strengthening foods.^[6][11][8]
• 2nd–3rd century AD – Sextus Empiricus names one of the forms of the chromatic scale τὸ τονικόν.^[6][8]
• 1640s – English takes tonic from it.^[5]
• Modern Greek – τονικός (tonikós) refers to accent, tonality and muscle tone.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Able to stretch or extend; strong (of a bird's wings).^[6][3][7]
2. (music) τὸ τονικόν: one of the three forms of the chromatic scale.^[6][12]
3. (grammar) Relating to accents.^[6][3]
4. (Stoic philosophy) Produced by tension (of motion).^[6]
5. (medicine) Contractile (of muscles); strengthening.^[6]

Related words

• τόνος (tónos)
• τείνω (teínō)
• Latin tonicus
• English tonic

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ a b c d e Malhadas, Daisi; Dezotti, Maria Celeste C.; Neves, Maria Helena de Moura, eds. (2006–2010), Dicionário Grego-Português, São Paulo: Ateliê; digital ed. 3 (2022), UNESP Araraquara
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Дворецкий, И. Х. (1958), Древнегреческо-русский словарь, Moscow: ГИС
8. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
9. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens
11. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
12. ^ Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg