Di`a*ton"ic (dī`&adot;*t&obreve;n"&ibreve;k), a. [L. diatonicus, diatonus, Gr. &?;, &?;, fr. &?; to stretch out; dia` through + &?; to stretch: cf. F. diatonique. See Tone.] (Mus.) Pertaining to the scale of eight tones, the eighth of which is the octave of the first.

Diatonic scale(Mus.), a scale consisting of eight sounds with seven intervals, of which two are semitones and five are whole tones; a modern major or minor scale, as distinguished from the chromatic scale.