Link Centre Dictionary

intonate

in·to·nate

UK/ˈɪntəʊneɪt/ uncommon dated obsolete

verb

1.

speak carefully, as with rising and falling pitch or in a particular tone

  • “please intonate with sadness”
Synonyms
2.

recite with musical intonation; recite as a chant or a psalm

  • “The rabbi chanted a prayer”
Synonyms

Origin

First attested in 1795; borrowed from Medieval Latin intonātus, perfect passive participle of intonō (“to vocalize, chant”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from in- (inchoative prefix) + tonus (“pitch, tone”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix); doublet of intone. Cognate with French entonner, Italian intonare.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.