trihemitone Mus. ? Obs.
(traɪˈhɛmɪtəʊn)
[ad. Gr. τριηµιτόνιον, f. τρι- tri- + ἡµιτόνιον hemitone.]
An interval of three semitones, or a tone and a semitone; a minor third; esp. that used in the ancient Greek (Pythagorean) scale.
| 1694 W. Holder Harmony (1731) 61, I would..call the greater Third (as the Greeks do) Ditone,..and the Third Minor, Trihemitone.., as consisting of three half-Tones, (or rather of a Tone and half a Tone). 1746 Phil. Trans. XLIV. 268 The Trihemitone of the Ancients falls short of the third Minor by a Comma. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Interval, Trihemitone of the Greek Scale, or deficient third Minor, 32/27,..Third Minor, 6/5,..Trihemitone Major, 4096/3375. |