Enharmonical | { } a. [ Gr. 'enarmoniko`s, 'enarmo`nios fitting, accordant; 'en in + "armoni`a harmony: cf. F. enharmonique.] 1. (Anc. Mus.) Of or pertaining to that one of the three kinds of musical scale (diatonic, chromatic, enharmonic) recognized by the ancient Greeks, which consisted of quarter tones and major thirds, and was regarded as the most accurate. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mus.) (a) Pertaining to a change of notes to the eye, while, as the same keys are used, the instrument can mark no difference to the ear, as the substitution of A♭ for G♯. (b) Pertaining to a scale of perfect intonation which recognizes all the notes and intervals that result from the exact tuning of diatonic scales and their transposition into other keys. [1913 Webster] Variants: Enharmonic |
Gnomonical | { } a. [ L. gnomonicus, Gr. &unr_;: cf. F. gnomonique. See Gnomon. ] Of or pertaining to the gnomon, or the art of dialing. [ 1913 Webster ] Gnomonic projection, a projection of the circles of the sphere, in which the point of sight is taken at the center of the sphere, and the principal plane is tangent to the surface of the sphere. “The gnomonic projection derives its name from the connection between the methods of describing it and those for the construction of a gnomon or dial.” Cyc. of Arts & Sciences. [ 1913 Webster ] Variants: Gnomonic |
Harmonical | /mhw>, a. [ L. harmonicus, Gr. "armoniko`s; cf. F. harmonique. See Harmony.] 1. Concordant; musical; consonant; as, harmonic sounds. [1913 Webster] Harmonic twang! of leather, horn, and brass. Pope. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mus.) Relating to harmony, -- as melodic relates to melody; harmonious; esp., relating to the accessory sounds or overtones which accompany the predominant and apparent single tone of any string or sonorous body. [1913 Webster] 3. (Math.) Having relations or properties bearing some resemblance to those of musical consonances; -- said of certain numbers, ratios, proportions, points, lines, motions, and the like. [1913 Webster] Harmonic interval (Mus.), the distance between two notes of a chord, or two consonant notes. -- Harmonical mean (Arith. & Alg.), certain relations of numbers and quantities, which bear an analogy to musical consonances. -- Harmonic motion, the motion of the point A, of the foot of the perpendicular PA, when P moves uniformly in the circumference of a circle, and PA is drawn perpendicularly upon a fixed diameter of the circle. This is simple harmonic motion. The combinations, in any way, of two or more simple harmonic motions, make other kinds of harmonic motion. The motion of the pendulum bob of a clock is approximately simple harmonic motion. -- Harmonic proportion. See under Proportion. -- Harmonic series or Harmonic progression. See under Progression. -- Spherical harmonic analysis, a mathematical method, sometimes referred to as that of Laplace's Coefficients, which has for its object the expression of an arbitrary, periodic function of two independent variables, in the proper form for a large class of physical problems, involving arbitrary data, over a spherical surface, and the deduction of solutions for every point of space. The functions employed in this method are called spherical harmonic functions. Thomson & Tait. -- Harmonic suture (Anat.), an articulation by simple apposition of comparatively smooth surfaces or edges, as between the two superior maxillary bones in man; -- called also harmonia, and harmony. -- Harmonic triad (Mus.), the chord of a note with its third and fifth; the common chord. [1913 Webster] Variants: Harmonic |
Mnemonical | { } a. [ Gr. mnhmoniko`s, fr. mnh`mwn mindful, remembering, mnh`mh memory, mna^sqai to think on, remember; akin to E. mind. ] Assisting in memory; helping to remember; as, a mnemonic device. [ 1913 Webster ] Variants: Mnemonic |