monotonous

/məˈnɒtənəs/muh-NO-tuh-nuhs

/məˈnɑtənəs/muh-NAH-tuh-nuhs

Meaningof one pitch

Common meaning: dull and unvarying

monoalone, singleLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 977 · scan
tona stretching; pitch of soundLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 812 · scan
ousadjective ending: full of, having

‘alone, single’ + ‘a stretching’ → monotonous

Journey through time

Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.

mono — Greek μόνος “alone, single” (dictionary form; path not traced)
ton — Greek τόνος “a stretching; pitch of sound” (dictionary form; path not traced)

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Greek μόνος ‘alone, single’ + Greek τόνος ‘a stretching; pitch of sound’.

Did you know (Greek monos, "alone,…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry μόνος, p. 977 · dictionary scan

Did you know (Greek tonos, a…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry τόνος, p. 812 · dictionary scan

Roots

μόνος Greek “alone, single”
τόνος Greek “a stretching; pitch of sound”

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