bitonal

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

▲

Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.?

Proto-Indo-European *dwi-

Proto-Italic *dwi-

Latin bi-bor.

English bi-

English tonal

English bitonal

From bi- + tonal.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /baɪˈtəʊnəl/
• Rhymes: -əʊnəl

Adjective

bitonal (not comparable)

1. (music, of a musical instrument) That has two tonic centres simultaneously
2. (music) Of or pertaining to bitonality
3. Of two tones, or shades of colour.

   Near-synonyms: binary, 1-bit

   bitonal image

   • 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Sceptre (Hodder and Stoughton), →ISBN:

     So there we were, this black bro' frisks me down with his bitonal paw and relieves me of my wallet.

Derived terms

• bitonalism
• bitonally

Anagrams

• Blatino, blatino

French

Etymology

From bi- +‎ tonal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.tɔ.nal/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Adjective

bitonal (feminine bitonale, masculine plural bitonaux, feminine plural bitonales)

1. (music) bitonal

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

Proto-Indo-European *-s

▲

Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.

Proto-Indo-European *dwís

Proto-Italic *dwis

Old Latin duis

Latin bisder.

Spanish bi-

Spanish tonal

Spanish bitonal

From bi- + tonal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bitoˈnal/ [bi.t̪oˈnal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: bi‧to‧nal

Adjective

bitonal m or f (masculine and feminine plural bitonales)

1. (music) bitonal

Derived terms

• bitonalidad

Further reading

• “bitonal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026