monotonicadj.
/ˌmɒnəˈtɒnɪk/, U.S. /ˌmɑnəˈtɑnɪk/ 1. Of, relating to, or uttered in a monotone; (of an instrument or a line of music) limited or confined to one tone or pitch.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > [adjective] > repeated at same pitch
monotonical1752
monotone1770
monotonous1774
monotonic1797
1797 Encycl. Brit. XII. 538/2 The fundamental bass which in itself is monotonic and little suited for singing [etc.].
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Monotonic, monotonous (little used).
1850 T. Helmore Man. Plainsong 227 Monotonic mediation.
1880 G. Grove Dict. Music II. 355/1 The use of Monotonic Recitation is of extreme antiquity.
1987 Melody Maker 8 Aug. 14/2 ‘Oh no, I don't want bits of a dead shark,’ he says in that monotonic whine.
1989 H. Cole Malcolm Arnold iv. 52 The new theme recedes into the background and is later reduced to a monotonic rhythm.
2. Mathematics and Science. Of a function of a real variable: varying so that as the value of the variable increases, the value of the function may increase but never decrease (a monotonic increasing function), or conversely may decrease but never increase (a monotonic decreasing function). Of a sequence: consisting of successive terms that may increase but never decrease in value, or conversely may decrease but never increase in value. Also: designating a variation in value that follows such a pattern. Cf. monotone n. 3, monotonous adj. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [adjective] > relating to expressions > relating to functions
generating1671
exponential1704
discontinuous1803
functional1806
odd1812
periodic1820
syzygetic1850
convex1858
graphometric1865
polycyclic1869
subrational1875
synectic1876
variational1879
polyhedral1881
holomorphic1886
tropical1887
Gudermannian1888
monogeneous1888
monotonous1890
oscillating1893
monotonic1901
monotone1903
orthogonalized1909
schlicht1925
concave1942
deconvolved1974
unate1978
1901 Ann. Math. 2 116 It follows that f(s) is a monotonic function that actually decreases in parts of the interval 0≦s≦l.
1908 T. J. I'A. Bromwich Introd. Theory Infinite Series i. 5 Both increasing and decreasing sequences are included in the term monotonic sequences.
1923 Proc. Cambr. Philos. Soc. 21 633 Z shall be monotonic considered as a function of ρ.
1957 G. E. Hutchinson Treat. Limnol. I. v. 251 The velocity at any point in a fluid could be expressed as a continuous monotonic or regularly oscillating function of time.
1968 E. T. Copson Metric Spaces i. 16 Every bounded monotonic sequence of real numbers is convergent.
1970 Nature 3 Oct. 36/2 The rate of uptake of calcium by the isolated reticulum..also displayed monotonic dependence on the concentration of free Ca2+ in the medium.
1995 Appl. Linguistics 16 415 What is not clear at the moment is whether the relationship between frequency and word acquisition is monotonic (i.e. the more frequently the word occurs, the more likely it is to be learnt).
3. Designating a system of orthography used to write Greek, in which accent marks are used only to indicate stress and diaeresis. Cf. polytonic adj. 3.The monotonic system is the written form of Greek used in everyday contexts (cf. demotic n. 2), and was introduced as the official writing system of Greek in 1982, replacing the traditional polytonic method.
ΚΠ
1982 Globe & Mail (Canada) 30 Jan. 15/2 The introduction of the monotonic system—already in use by most of Greece's newspapers—will ‘encourage a love of literature’.
1992 Mod. Lang. Jrnl. 76 ii. p. i (advt.) It is the first Modern Greek grammar to employ the monotonic system of accentuation.
2004 TeX, XML, & Digital Typogr.: Internat. Conf. Proc. 35 Many computerized solutions have been invented for assistance in typing monotonic Greek.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1797