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DIATONIC
Definition of DIATONIC
adjective
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.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From French diatonique or Late Latin diatonicus, ultimately from Ancient Greek διατονικός (diatonikós), in the phrase [γένος (génos, “type, genus”)] διατονικός (diatonikós) (in reference to the diatonic tetrachord, and in contrast to the chromatic and enharmonic tetrachords), from διάτονος (diátonos) (διά (diá) + τόνος (tónos)), of disputed etymology, as both components are ambiguous. Most plausibly, διάτονος (diátonos) 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 pyknon, from πυκνός (puknós, “dense, compressed”), 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”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- Latin
- French
- English
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.6%
of traced words share this origin (3,789)
branch · 12.6% of traced words
How it is built
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
DIATONIC in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 43 boards so far. 81 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 12, 1 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 147, 14 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 5 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 12, 1 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
DIATONIC starts with D and ends with C. Sorted, its letters read ACDIINOT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. I appears more than once.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start DIATON
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 12
Could you have found DIATONIC?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 12 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER