baritone

[bar-i-tohn] /ˈbær ɪˌtoʊn/
noun
1.
a male voice or voice part intermediate between tenor and bass.
2.
a singer with such a voice.
3.
a large, valved brass instrument shaped like a trumpet or coiled in oval form, used especially in military bands.
adjective
4.
of or pertaining to a baritone; having the compass of a baritone.
Also, barytone.
Origin
1600-10; < Italian baritono low voice < Greek barýtonos deep-sounding. See barytone2
Related forms
baritonal, adjective
Examples from the web for baritone
  • Even when he is not angry, his baritone voice has a declamatory tone.
  • Bob held the stage with his actor's baritone and theatrical chuckle, his eyes crinkled and sharply alert.
  • And this baritone serenely removes the scarf, stamps it out, and continues singing as if nothing were wrong with the world.
  • For a while it seemed that he was doomed to be a baritone.
  • His beautiful blocky head, his wonderful overgrown puppy's body, his baritone bark filled every corner of house and heart.
  • Twenty years ago, voiceovers were the domain of the baritone radio announcer or the character actor.
  • He enunciated each syllable crisply in a deep, booming baritone.
  • It was this power in the middle register that caused some to believe he was actually a baritone.
British Dictionary definitions for baritone

baritone

/ˈbærɪˌtəʊn/
noun
1.
the second lowest adult male voice, having a range approximately from G an eleventh below middle C to F a fourth above it
2.
a singer with such a voice
3.
the second lowest instrument in the families of the saxophone, horn, oboe, etc
adjective
4.
relating to or denoting a baritone: a baritone part
5.
denoting the second lowest instrument in a family: the baritone horn
Word Origin
C17: from Italian baritono a deep voice, from Greek barutonos deep-sounding, from barus heavy, low + tonos tone
Word Origin and History for baritone
n.

c.1600, from Italian baritono, from Greek barytonos "deep-toned, deep-sounding," from barys "heavy, deep," also, of sound, "strong, deep, bass" (see grave (adj.)) + tonos "tone" (see tenet). Technically, "ranging from lower A in bass clef to lower F in treble clef." Meaning "singer having a baritone voice" is from 1821. As a type of brass band instrument, it is attested from 1949.

baritone in Culture

baritone definition


A range of the male singing voice higher than bass and lower than tenor.