Di`a*pa"son (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. (i. e., the concord of the first and last notes, the octave); through + , gen. pl. of all: cf. F. diapason. Cf. Panacea.]

1. Gr. Mus.

The octave, or interval which includes all the tones of the diatonic scale.

2.

Concord, as of notes an octave apart; harmony.

The fair music that all creatures made . . . In perfect diapason. Milton.

3.

The entire compass of tones.

Through all the compass of the notes it ran, The diapason closing full in man. Dryden.

4.

A standard of pitch; a tuning fork; as, the French normal diapason.

5.

One of certain stops in the organ, so called because they extend through the scale of the instrument. They are of several kinds, as open diapason, stopped diapason, double diapason, and the like.

 

© Webster 1913.

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