What does polytonic mean?

Definitions for polytonic
po·ly·ton·ic

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word polytonic.


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Wiktionary

  1. polytonicadjective

    of or using the Greek system of diacritics which employs the rough and smooth breathings and the grave, acute, and circumflex accents. Replaced by the monotonic system in 1982.

Wikipedia

  1. polytonic

    Greek orthography has used a variety of diacritics starting in the Hellenistic period. The more complex polytonic orthography (Greek: πολυτονικό σύστημα γραφής, romanized: polytonikó sýstīma grafī́s), which includes five diacritics, notates Ancient Greek phonology. The simpler monotonic orthography (Greek: μονοτονικό σύστημα γραφής, romanized: monotonikó sýstīma grafīs), introduced in 1982, corresponds to Modern Greek phonology, and requires only two diacritics. Polytonic orthography (from Ancient Greek πολύς (polýs) 'much, many', and τόνος (tónos) 'accent') is the standard system for Ancient Greek and Medieval Greek. The acute accent (´), the circumflex (ˆ), and the grave accent (`) indicate different kinds of pitch accent. The rough breathing (῾) indicates the presence of the /h/ sound before a letter, while the smooth breathing (᾿) indicates the absence of /h/. Since in Modern Greek the pitch accent has been replaced by a dynamic accent (stress), and /h/ was lost, most polytonic diacritics have no phonetic significance, and merely reveal the underlying Ancient Greek etymology. Monotonic orthography (from Ancient Greek μόνος (mónos) 'single', and τόνος (tónos) 'accent') is the standard system for Modern Greek. It retains two diacritics: a single accent or tonos (΄) that indicates stress, and the diaeresis ( ¨ ), which usually indicates a hiatus but occasionally indicates a diphthong: compare modern Greek παϊδάκια (/paiðaca/, "lamb chops"), with a diphthong, and παιδάκια (/peˈðaca/, "little children") with a simple vowel. A tonos and a diaeresis can be combined on a single vowel to indicate a stressed vowel after a hiatus, as in the verb ταΐζω (/taˈizo/, "to feed"). Although it is not a diacritic, the hypodiastole (comma) has in a similar way the function of a sound-changing diacritic in a handful of Greek words, principally distinguishing ό,τι (ó,ti, "whatever") from ότι (óti, "that").

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of polytonic in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of polytonic in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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"polytonic." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/polytonic>.

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    incapable of being atoned for
    A tantamount
    B inexpiable
    C numinous
    D ostensive

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