English

Noun

tonus ‎(countable and uncountable, plural tonuses)

1. (biology) tonicity; tone

   muscular tonus

   • 1956, Personal character and cultural milieu: a collection of readings

     Dr. H. S. Sullivan, for example, is known to many for his acute understanding of the postural tonuses of his patients.

French

Noun

tonus m ‎(plural tonus)

1. muscle tone, tonicity, tonus
2. (by extension) energy, strength

Related terms

• tonicité
• tonifier

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek τόνος ‎(tónos, “tone”), from τείνω ‎(teínō, “I stretch”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈto.nus/, [ˈtɔ.nʊs]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈto.nus/, [ˈtɔː.nus]

Noun

tonus m ‎(genitive tonī); second declension

1. The stretching or straining of a rope.
2. (by extension) A strain; tension.
3. (figuratively) The pitch, sound or tone of something.
4. (figuratively) A crack of thunder.

Inflection

Second declension.

Descendants

References

• tonus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• TONUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “tonus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.