overtone

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a musical or acoustic tone sounding above a fundamental tone as part of a complex sound

   A bright metallic overtone made the cello note sound unusually sharp.

2. 2
   noun

   a subtle secondary quality, implication, or association accompanying an explicit meaning

   Her polite reply carried an overtone of impatience.

Formed from over + tone as a calque of German Oberton. The acoustic term denotes a component heard above the fundamental frequency; the figurative sense extends this idea to a secondary meaning or quality heard beneath explicit words.

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