# monotone
## English
### Etymology

From the post-Classical Latin monotonus (“unvarying in tone”) or its etymon the Ancient Greek μονότονος (monótonos, “steady”, “unwavering”); compare cognate adjectives, namely the French monotone, the German monoton, the Italian monotono, and the Spanish monótono, as well as the slightly earlier English noun monotony and adjective monotonical.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˈmɒn.ə.təʊn/
** Audio (UK):(file)
* (US) IPA: /ˈmɑː.nə.toʊn/
** Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (General Australian):(file)

### Adjective

monotone (comparative more monotone, superlative most monotone)
* (of speech or a sound) Having a single unvaried pitch.
** 1940, Asiatic Society (Calcutta, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, India), Journal of the Asiatic Society, page 95:
    The prominence of the syllables is more monotone than in English, the intonation of the latter having a larger variation of stressed and unstressed syllables.
** 1998, Roger W. Shuy, “Bureaucratic Language in Government and Business”, in Research on Telephone vs. In-Person Administrative Hearings, Georgetown University Press, page 76:In the formal register, such variation is reduced and the talk has a more monotone, business-like quality.
* (mathematics) Being, or having the salient properties of, a monotone function.
    The function $f(x):=x^{3}$ is monotone on $\mathbb {R}$, while $g(x):=x^{2}$ is not.
* (printing) Synonym of monochrome.
    Coordinate terms: duotone, tritone, quadtone; multitone

#### Derived terms

* pseudomonotone

#### Translations
### Noun

monotone (countable and uncountable, plural monotones)
* A single unvaried tone of speech or a sound.
    When Tima felt like her parents were treating her like a servant, she would speak in monotone and act as though she were a robot.
** 1799, John Walker, Elements of Elocution, Cooper and Wilson, page 309:
    It is no very difficult matter to be loud in a high tone of voice; but to be loud and forcible in a low tone, requires great practice and management; this, however, may be facilitated by pronouncing forcibly at firſt in a low monotone; a monotone, though in a low key, and without force, is much more ſonorous and audible than when the voice ſlides up and down at almoſt every word, as it muſt do to be various.
** 1846 October, Alfred B[illings] Street, “A Day’s Hunting about the Mongaup”, in George R[ex] Graham, editor, Graham’s American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art, volume XXIX, number 4, Philadelphia, Pa.: George R. Graham & Co., […], →OCLC, page 190:There is a water-break formed by a small terrace of rock in mid-stream, and purling with a hollow, delicious monotone—an island of pebbles is above, with here and there smaller ones near the "forks."
* A piece of writing in one strain throughout.

#### Derived terms

* monotone convergence theorem
* monotonic
* monotonous
* monotony

#### Translations
### Verb

monotone (third-person singular simple present monotones, present participle monotoning, simple past and past participle monotoned)
* (transitive, intransitive) To speak in a monotone.

## Esperanto
### Etymology

monotona +‎ -e

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [monoˈtone]
* Rhymes: -one
* Hyphenation: mo‧no‧to‧ne

### Adverb

monotone
* monotonously
* in monotone

## French
### Etymology

From Late Latin monotonus, from Ancient Greek μονότονος (monótonos).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mɔ.nɔ.tɔn/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

monotone (plural monotones)
* monotone
* whose speech is monotone
* boring due to uniformity or lack of variety; monotonous

### Further reading

* “monotone”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## German
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

monotone
* inflection of monoton:
** strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
** strong nominative/accusative plural
** weak nominative all-gender singular
** weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

## Italian
### Adjective

monotone
* feminine plural of monotono

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Adjective

monotone
* definite singular of monoton
* plural of monoton

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Adjective

monotone
* definite singular of monoton
* plural of monoton