diatonic

Etymology
From or, ultimately from , in the phrase []  (in reference to the diatonic , and in contrast to the  and  tetrachords), from  ( + ), of disputed etymology, as both components are ambiguous.

Most plausibly, refers to “stretched intervals”, as the intervals of the diatonic tetrachord are the most evenly distributed or “stretched out”, compared to the chromatic and enharmonic tetrads, which use smaller, more crowded together intervals. Compare, from , referring to the lower part of the non-diatonic tetrachords: the diatonic tetrachord has widely spaced notes (“stretched out”), while the other tetrachords have a closely spaced notes (“compressed”).

Adjective

 * 1)  Relating to or characteristic of a musical scale which contains seven pitches and a pattern of five whole tones and two semitones; particularly, of the major or natural minor scales.

Derived terms

 * diatonic scale

Translations

 * Catalan: diatònic
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin: 自然律的, 自然音階的
 * Danish: diatonisk
 * French:
 * German: diatonisch
 * Icelandic: díatónískur
 * Italian: diatonico
 * Norwegian:
 * Bokmål: diatonisk
 * Nynorsk: diatonisk
 * Polish:
 * Russian:
 * Spanish: diatónico
 * Swedish:

Etymology
or.