baritone

1 of 2

noun

bari·​tone ˈber-ə-ˌtōn 

ˈba-rə-

variants or less commonly barytone

1

: a male singing voice of medium compass between bass and tenor

also : a person having this voice

2

: a member of a family of instruments having a range between tenor and bass

especially : the baritone saxhorn or baritone saxophone

baritonal

ˌber-ə-ˈtō-nᵊl 

ˌba-rə-

adjective

baritone

2 of 2

adjective

variants or less commonly barytone

: relating to or having the range or part of a baritone

Examples of baritone in a Sentence

Noun

He sang in his school choir as a baritone.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Hozier has spent his entire career as a road warrior, gradually leveling up in terms of venue size — and earning lifelong fans with his live combination of low-key charisma and soaring singalongs, elevated by his piercing baritone — but making sure not to skip steps, or markets. —Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 12 Dec. 2024

Philcox-Littlefield enhanced that attitude by playing a growling baritone guitar instead of the light Memphis soul licks featured in the demo. —Tom Roland, Billboard, 26 Nov. 2024

Adjective

Instead, to Lacy's chagrin, Paul Robeson, a former athlete turned bass-baritone singer and actor who also was famous for visiting the Soviet Union, was there at the commissioner's invitation. —Cesar Brioso, USA TODAY, 4 Feb. 2023

Chris Young became his gold standard, thanks to his sturdy songcraft and similar baritone range. —Hank Shteamer, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from New Latin baritonus, borrowed from Middle Greek barýtonos "deep (of musical notes)," going back to Greek, "deep-sounding, (in grammar) not accented on the last syllable," from barýs "heavy, weighty, deep in pitch or tone" + -tonos, adjective derivative of tónos "stretching, exertion, pitch of the voice, accent of a syllable" — more at grave entry 2, tone entry 1

Note: The earliest use of the word in English is apparently in John Dowland's 1609 translation of the Musicae activae micrologus by the German music theorist Andreas Ornithoparchus, first printed in Leipzig in 1517. Earlier than baritonus is a nominalized participle baritonans, attested in the Practica musice of Franchino Gafurio, printed in Milan in 1496. Italian baritono, from which later uses in English may derive, is not attested before the seventeenth century.

Adjective

from attributive use of baritone entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1729, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

baritone

noun

bar·​i·​tone

ˈbar-ə-ˌtōn

1

a

: a male singing voice between bass and tenor

b

: a singer having such a voice

2

: a horn with a range between that of the trumpet and the tuba