Tonic

Search:

Tonic

(a.) Of or relating to tones or sounds; specifically (Phon.), applied to, or distingshing, a speech sound made with tone unmixed and undimmed by obstruction, such sounds, namely, the vowels and diphthongs, being so called by Dr. James Rush (1833) from their forming the purest and most plastic material of intonation.
(a.) Of or pertaining to tension; increasing tension; hence, increasing strength; as, tonic power.
(a.) Increasing strength, or the tone of the animal system; obviating the effects of debility, and restoring healthy functions.
(n.) A tonic element or letter; a vowel or a diphthong.
(n.) The key tone, or first tone of any scale.
(n.) A medicine that increases the strength, and gives vigor of action to the system.
(a.) Characterized by continuous muscular contraction; as, tonic convulsions.