post-tonic
|post-ton-ic|
🇺🇸
/poʊstˈtɑnɪk/
🇬🇧
/pəʊstˈtɒnɪk/
after the tonic
Etymology
'post-tonic' originates from Latin, specifically the prefix 'post-' (from Latin 'post') meaning 'after', combined with 'tonic' (via Latin 'tonicus' from Greek 'tonos') where 'tonos' meant 'tone' or 'stretch'.
'post-tonic' is a modern English compound formed from the Latin prefix 'post-' + the adjective 'tonic'. 'Tonic' itself came into English via Latin 'tonicus' from Greek 'tonos' meaning 'tone'; the compound construction (post- + tonic) developed with descriptive terminology in phonology in the 19th–20th centuries.
Initially the elements meant 'after' + 'tone/stretch'; the compounded term has come to mean specifically 'after the tonic (stressed) syllable' in phonology.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a syllable that immediately follows the tonic (stressed) syllable in a word or phrase; the syllable after the main stress.
In the word 'economy', the second syllable is post-tonic.
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Antonyms
Adjective 1
located after the tonic (stressed) syllable; occurring immediately following the main stress in a word or phrase.
The post-tonic vowel in many unstressed syllables is reduced to a schwa.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/08 07:40