tonic
noun /ˈtɒnɪk/
/ˈtɑːnɪk/
- (also tonic water)[uncountable, countable] a clear fizzy drink (= with bubbles in it) with a slightly bitter taste, that is often mixed with a strong alcoholic drink, especially gin or vodka
- a gin and tonic
- [countable] a medicine that makes you feel stronger and healthier, taken especially when you feel tired
- herbal tonics
- [countable, uncountable] a liquid that you put on your hair or skin in order to make it healthier
- skin tonic
- [countable, usually singular] (old-fashioned) anything that makes people feel healthier or happier
- The weekend break was just the tonic I needed.
- [countable] (music) the first note of a scale of eight notes
- (also tonic syllable)[countable] (phonetics) the syllable in a tone unit on which a change in pitch takes place
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from French tonique, from Greek tonikos ‘of or for stretching’, from tonos ‘tension, tone’, from teinein ‘to stretch’.