Skip to main content
partial

partial

8.6
A tone inside a sound that helps make an instrument's unique sound
  • noun
  • /ˈpɑːrʧəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : armónico
  • Beginning trumpet players understand the concept that faster "buzzing" lips produce higher pitches on the trumpet, and many know these higher pitches are called partials or overtones.
  • upper partials

Examples

  • A teacher who plays brass can demonstrate the partials on the instrument, showing that the basic harmonic series is the same on different instruments.

    Academic text (2004)
  • You have simulated the first five partials of the clarinet timbre.

    Academic text (2011)
  • So in fact all you need are the partials for these.

  • Students take great delight in finding the standing waves on the Slinky and in seeing how many different partials can be produced.

    Academic text (2004)
  • The musician explained how the partial frequencies contribute to the overall sound of the instrument.

  • In her acoustics class, she learned that each note played on a string produces several partials that enrich the sound.

  • During the demonstration, the teacher showed how to identify the partials of a musical note using a tuning fork.

Synonyms

harmonic
vspartial
  • Specialized
3 6.7

A tone made when a string vibrates in parts above the main tone

is used as the general component name including such tones
overtone
vspartial
  • Specialized
3 7.4

A higher musical tone that sounds above the main note

is defined as a component whose frequency is an exact whole-number multiple
partial tone
vspartial
  • Specialized
7.7

A higher sound made when the main note vibrates a whole number of times

is the broader technical term for that component of a musical sound

Compounds

A medical procedure late in pregnancy where the unborn baby is partly delivered and then removed

1 9.6

An equation that shows how a value changes when two or more things change

An event when one object in the sky blocks only part of another, leaving some still visible

1 8.7

A decision that says a person is guilty of some crimes but not others in the same trial

Total pressure of a gas mixture equals sum of pressures each gas would have alone under the same conditions

5.5

In a gas mixture, total pressure equals the sum of pressures each gas would make alone

A method to measure the relationship between two ranked variables while keeping other variables the same

9.0

A pregnancy that ends while some tissue stays in the womb

7.5

A break of a contract that does not end it but lets the harmed person ask for money

partial correlation
  • Specialized
7.7

How two things are related after removing the effect of a third thing

partial denture
  • Specialized
4.4

A removable dental device that replaces one or more missing teeth

partial derivative
  • Specialized
8.7

How fast a function with two or more variables changes when one variable changes and others stay the same

partial tone
  • Specialized
7.7

A higher sound made when the main note vibrates a whole number of times

partial veil
  • Specialized
9.9

A thin skin that covers a young mushroom and breaks to leave a ring on the stem

Surface Forms

partial singular
partials plural

Morphology

partial = part (opaque) = part + ial

The musical sense is specialized and not directly derived from 'part'.

Etymology

Partial in music means one 'part' of a sound. It comes from the same root as part, so each partial is a component of the whole tone that helps make an instrument's unique sound.