subtonic

From sub- +‎ tonic.

subtonic (not comparable)

1. (phonetics, dated) Of or pertaining to imperfectly articulated sounds or utterances that are inaudible or barely audible, as characterized by Dr. James Rush (Guide to Pronunciation, 1833).

subtonic (plural subtonics)

1. (music) The note immediately below the upper note of a musical scale.
2. (phonetics, dated) An imperfectly articulated sound or utterance, as characterized by Dr. James Rush (Guide to Pronunciation, 1833).

• “subtonic”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “subtonic”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.