| 释义 |
▪ I. tune, n.|tjuːn|
Forms: (4 tun), 4– tune; also 5 tuyn(e, (tyune, teone), twn(e, 5–6 tewne, toyn(e, 6 Sc. tuin, tone, toon, 6–7 Sc. toone; cf. also tone n.
[A peculiar phonetic variant of tone n., appearing first in 14th c.: the Sc. toon, tuin (tøn, tʏn) show the normal Sc. representative of ME. ō, as in muin, suin, duin, shuin (shoes).]
†1.
a. A (musical) sound or tone; esp. the sound of the voice: = tone n. 1. Obs.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 355 Þey makeþ wel mery armonye and melody wiþ wel þicke tunes [Caxton tewnes], werbeles, and nootes. c1400Laud Troy Bk. 14292 He tolde him of the deth of Brunes; Then were mad hidus tuynes Off many a gentil damysel. 1413Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) v. i. (1859) 72 There was no tune of musik that ther was forgeten. 1435Misyn Fire of Love ii. iii. 73 Emonge aungels twnys it has a acceptabyll melody. c1450Songs & Carols (E.E.T.S.) 89/53 Thus seyth þis byrde, in tyunes gay. 1508Fisher Penit. Ps. xxxviii. Wks. (E.E.T.S.) i. 71 In the whiche swete soundes we shall here so grete plente & dyuersite of tunes as euer was herde before. 1560Ingelend Disob. Child C ij, Her tonge and her tune is very shryll. 1573–80Baret Alv. T 415 The tune of the Harpe, canor lyræ. Ouid. 1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 431 Melodious discord, heauenly tune harsh sounding. a1600Montgomerie Misc. Poems vi. 31 Lamenting toons best lyks me for relief. c1600Shakes. Sonn. cxli, Nor are mine ears with thy toungs tune delighted. c1614Sir W. Mure Dido & æneas iii. 20 And als the light-envying owl, alone, With tragick toones her smarte and sorrow shew. 1706Prior Ode to Queen 9 High as their Trumpets Tune His Lyre he strung. 1819Keats Isabella iv, Lorenzo, if thy lips breathe not love's tune. a1849Hor. Smith Addr. Mummy ii, Thou hast a tongue: come, let us hear its tune.
b. Applied to a special affected or peculiar intonation in speaking: cf. 2, and tone n. 5 c.
1783Blair Lect. Rhet. xxxiii. II. 214 If any one, in Public Speaking, shall have formed to himself a certain melody or tune, which requires rest and pauses of its own, distinct from those of the sense, he has..contracted one of the worst habits into which a Public Speaker can fall.
2. a. A rhythmical succession of musical tones produced by (or composed for) an instrument or voice; an air, melody (with or without the harmony which accompanies it). Now the leading sense. (Not in tone n.)
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 207 By the sleuþe of þe manere of tunes [orig. modorum tarditate]. 1491Cartular. St. Nicholai Aberdon. (New Spald. Cl.) I. 256 Chaplannis yat kepis nocht ye Seculorum and twne gewin yame be ye chantour. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxxii. 29 Ȝour commone menstrallis hes no tone, Bot ‘Now the day dawis’, and ‘Into Joun’. 1535Coverdale Ezek. xxxiii. 32 As a balet yt hath a swete tune, and is pleasaunt to synge. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. i. ii. 82 Best sing it to the tune of Light o' Loue. a1600Montgomerie Misc. Poems xlviii. 94 Vp uent our saillis, tauntit to the huins; The trumpets soundit tuentie mirrie tuins. 1697Dryden Virg. Past ix. 62 The Tune I still retain, but not the Words. 1717Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Pope 1 Apr., The tunes are extremely gay and lively. 1798Coleridge Anc. Mar. v. 81 A hidden brook In the leafy month of June, That to the sleeping woods all night Singeth a quiet tune. 1828Scott F.M. Perth x, The tune,..played upon a viol, was gay and sprightly in the commencement.
(b) Proverb. (See quot. a 1915.) Hence, to call the tune, to hold the initiative, to have control of events.
a1915Proverb. He who pays the piper, calls the tune. 1928A. Huxley Point Counter Point xii. 211 Lucy insisted, when she was with men, on doing as much of the paying as possible. Paying, she was independent, she could call her own tune. 1948W. S. Churchill Second World War I. i. x. 182 If Britain had used her naval power, closed the Suez Canal, and defeated the Italian Navy in a general engagement, she would have had the right to call the tune in Europe. 1963A. Ross Australia 63 iii. 92 A match throughout which, despite frequent fluctuation, England had called the tune. 1978Lancashire Life Nov. 70/1 The Listers had called the local tune ever since the reign of Henry IV, although it was not until 1797 that the head of the family was ennobled.
b. spec. A musical setting of a hymn or psalm, usually in four-part harmony, intended for use in public worship; a hymn-tune.
c1450J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. xix. 27 Ambrose mad hem to be sunge delectabily with consent of dyuers tewnys whech had not be used þere be-for. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 7 Heir followis the Catechisme put in meter, to be sung with the tone [edd. 1578, etc. tune]. 1795Mason Ch. Mus. iii. 195 Adapted, if not originally written, to one particular Melody or Tune. 1833T. Hook Parson's Dau. i. i, Which [house-clock] strikes every hour, chimes the quarters, and plays Rule Britannia and the Hundreth Psalm tune two hundred and fifty times in the four and twenty hours. 1908[Miss Fowler] Betw. Trent & Ancholme 50 The tune (‘Oxford’) was brought by our grandfather from thence.
†c. Applied to the mediæval ecclesiastical modes (the eight tunes): see mode n. 1 a (b), and cf. tone n. 3 b. Obs.
1597Morley Introd. Mus. 147 The churchmen for keeping their Keyes haue deuised certaine notes commonlie called the eight tunes, so that according to the tune which is to be obserued,..if it beginne in such a key, it may end in such and such others. Annot., The eight tunes... The tunes (which are also called modi musici) the practitioners do define, to be a rule whereby the melodie of euerie song is directed.
d. (In full, act-tune.) A piece of music played between the acts of a play. Cf. entr'acte b.
1889W. H. Husk in Grove Dict. Mus. s.v. Tune, In the latter half of the 17th century and first quarter of the 18th century act-tunes were composed specially for every play... But act-tunes, now styled ‘Entr'actes’, have been occasionally composed in modern times. 1891Cent. Dict., Tune... 4. Same as entr'acte. Sometimes called act-tune.
e. the tune the (old) cow died of: humorously applied to a grotesque or unmusical succession of sounds, or a tedious ill-played piece of music. Also the tune the cat died of.
Supposed to refer to an ‘old ballad’ in which a piper who had nothing else to give his cow ‘took his pipe and played a tune, and bade the cow consider’. See N. & Q. 11th Ser. XI. 309.
1820M. Wilmot Let. 4 May (1935) 60, I am made laugh heartily three times a week..when they cut capers in the air with solemn faces, to the tune which the old Cow died of. 1836Lady Granville Lett. (1894) II. 218 The tune the old cow died of throughout, grunts and groans of instruments. 1943H. C. Bailey Mr. Fortune finds Pig xxxvi. 140 What are they singing?.. It sounds like the tune the cat died of.
3. a. The state of being in the proper pitch; correct intonation in singing, or in instrumental music; agreement in pitch, unison, or harmony (with something): mostly in phr. in tune or out of tune; cf. tone n. 2 b, c. Also, simply, the pitch of a musical note (quot. 1694, obs.).
c1440Jacob's Well 82 Whanne an harpe is weel sett in tewne. 1450–1530Myrr. our Ladye 56 That all the notes be songe, as they are in youre bokes, eche of them in theyr owne tewne. 1483Cath. Angl. 396/1 Oute of Tune, dissonus,..discors. 1530Rastell Bk. Purgat. ii. xviii, When hys harpe is out of tune. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VII 3 To set all the strynges in a monacorde and tune. 1602Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 166 Like sweet Bels iangled out of tune [2nd Qo. time], and harsh. 1617–18in Swayne Sarum Churchw. Acc. (1896) 167 For keeping the Organ in tune. 1694W. Holder Harmony ii. (1731) 5 The Tune of a Note..is constituted by the Measure and Proportion of Vibrations of the sonorous Body. 1707Watts Hymn, ‘Let others boast how strong they be’ iii, Strange that a harp of thousand strings Should keep in tune so long! 1773Phil. Trans. LXIII. 268 The B flat of the spinnet..was perfectly in tune with the great bell of St. Paul's. 1884Tennyson Becket Prol. 16 My voice is harsh here, not in tune.
b. fig. in phr. in tune, out of tune, in or out of order or proper condition; in or out of harmony with some person or thing. (See also 4, and cf. tone n. 2 c.)
1535Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) II. 390 On euerie syde thair wes richt mony slane, Or tha culd weill be put in tune agane. 1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 280/2 How many occasions are there to bring vs out of tune? 1605Rowlands Hell's Broke Loose 21 If Siluer in my Pockets do not ring, All's out of tune with mee in eu'ry thing. 1638W. Mountagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 282 Fire-locks..are not mendable when out of tune. c1680Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 332 If our bodies be out of tune so are our minds too. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 100 If you have a Horse in good Tune and Order. 1887Rider Haggard Jess xi, Bessie's mind was not quite in tune with the profundities of that learned journal.
c. Phrenol. The faculty of perception of musical pitch, and thus of melody and harmony.
1860Mayne Expos. Lex., Tune. Phrenol., a faculty (its organ at the lateral part of the forehead immediately above Number and Order) giving the perception of harmony and melody.
d. transf. Harmony or accordance in respect of vibrations other than those of sound; spec. between the transmitter and receiver in wireless telegraphy.
1909Westm. Gaz. 29 Apr. 5/3 You see, we must have a commercial or general ‘tune’, and when that is known any person installing the same ‘tune’ can intercept the messages... No one could intercept messages in such a case unless they had instruments of the same ‘tune’. 1911Webster s.v., To place the receiver of a system of wireless telegraphy in tune with the transmitter so as to respond to impulses given out by the latter.
†4.
a. Style, manner, or ‘tone’ (of discourse or writing). Obs. (Cf. tone 5 d.)
1537Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 74, I must nedes now..write unto you in an other tune. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 107 Missive letters..in this tune; To ætius thrice Consul, the grones of Britans.
b. to change one's tune, sing another tune (etc.): fig. to change one's tone, speak in a different strain. (Often directly fig. from 1 or 2.)
1524St. Papers Hen. VIII, VI. 349 Percace the said Frenche King wolde by this tyme have spoken of an other toyne. a1800Wedding Robin Hood & Lit. John ii. in Child Ballads (1886) iv. 422 O gin I live and bruik my life, I'll gar ye change your tune. 1890[see sing v.1 10 a].
5. fig. Frame of mind, temper, mood, disposition, humour: cf. tone 8.
1599Shakes. Much Ado iii. iv. 41 Hero. How now? do you speake in the sick tune? Beat. I am out of all other tune, me thinkes. 1605― Lear iv. iii. 41 (Qo.) [Lear] some time in his better tune remembers, What we are come about. 1647T. Calvert Heart Salve for Wounded Soul 33 This is the tone and tune of men in distress. a1691J. Flavel Sea Deliverances (1754) 165 Our fancies were out of tune to be pleasant with anything. 1785Burns Holy Fair xxvi, They're a' in famous tune For crack that day. 1833Moore Mem. (1854) VI. 335 Being in but bad tune for a fête.
6. Phrases. to the tune of (fig. from 2):
†a. According to the gist of, in accordance with (obs.).
b. To the amount or sum of. So to some tune (to a considerable extent), etc.
1607Hieron Wks. I. 405 Singing nothing but to the tune of Judas ‘What will ye give me?’ 1692R. L'Estrange Fables ccclvi. (1694) 372 This came to the Bishop's Ear, who presently sent for the Curate, Rattled him to some Tune. 1714R. Fiddes Pract. Disc. ii. 95 This is exactly to the tune of the old popular objection. 1716M. Davies Athen. Brit. II. 296 To Libel the Bishop..by exhibiting Articles against him to the Tune of 56. 1722De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 113 To go over..into Flanders, to be knocked on the head at the tune of 3s. 6d. a week. 1797Wonderf. Advant. Lottery (Cheap Repos. Tr.) 8, I had demands on me yesterday to the tune of 300 l. 1809Malkin Gil Blas vii. xvi. ⁋13 Other articles were much to the same tune. 1874Punch 22 Aug. 76/2 A defaulter to the imposing tune of {pstlg}10,000. 1883Manch. Exam. 24 Nov. 5/1 His peasant countrymen..have been spoiled and pilled, and whipt to every tune.
7. Comb., as tune-grinder, tune-hummer, tune-maker, tune-phrase, tune-tinkler, tune-weaving; tune-composed, tune-led, tune-skilled adjs.
1606Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. ii. Magnif. 898 Their Tune-skill'd feet in so true Time doe fall. 1756Cowper Connoisseur No. 138 ⁋4 The Whistlers or Tune-hummers, who never articulate at all. 1795Wolcott (P. Pindar) Frogmore Fête Wks. 1812 III. 315 Musicians and racers, tunegrinders and dancers. 1816J. Gilchrist Philos. Etym. 234 A tune-composed style. 1898T. Hardy Wessex Poems 118 She trod the flags with tune-led feet. 1901Palestine Exploration Fund Q. Statem. Oct. 420 One tune-phrase, repeated to every line, serves for a whole song.
Add: [c indigo][2.] f.[/c] Linguistics. The intonation pattern of a word or other unit of discourse.
1929I. C. Ward Phonetics of Eng. xiv. 138 It matters little if one puts extra breath force on wɜːˈʃɪp ..so long as the same ‘tune’ is kept.1957S. Potter Mod. Linguistics iii. 71 We detect two main end-of-sentence tunes in English which turn on the last strongly stressed syllable as on a hinge or pivot... Tune 1 falls after the turn... Tune 2 rises after the turn. 1975Language LI. 566 Tunen has many pairs of nouns of identical phonemic content which have identical tunes in neutral position, but different tunes when placed in contexts occasioning tonal change. 1989J. Honey Does Accent Matter? i. 5 Intonation is the ‘tune’ of a sentence, which in standard English usually differs between a statement and a question.
[3.] e. A tuning of an engine, etc., to improve its efficiency; also, the state or condition of a mechanism as regards tuning, or the setting to which it has been tuned.
1971Guardian 23 Mar. 18/3 A tune came to three times what I'd bargained for. 1977Austral. Sailing Jan. 40/2 In particular, the ability of the Europeans to point higher than us (when we were using the rig and tune we used in the Australian trials). 1982P. Dickinson Last House-Party iv. 53 The engine could do with a tune, but I think the real trouble's..the transmission. 1984N. Whittall Compl. Hang Gliding Guide vi. 92 Newcomers to CFKs will get on better with the glider in a ‘soft’ state of tune. 1986Airgun World Sept. 39/2 It certainly isn't a tune by conventional standards, with a little re-shaping, polishing and lubricating but a complete conversion.
▪ II. tune, v.
[f. tune n.]
I.
1. a. trans. To adjust the tones of (a musical instrument) to a standard of pitch; to bring into condition for producing the required sounds correctly; to put in tune. Also absol.
1505Tower of Doctrine xxvi. in Percy's Reliq., With goodly pypes, in their mouthes ituned. 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 1696 A synguler mynstrell..Toyned his instrument in pleasaunte armony. 1530Palsgr. 763/2, I pray you, tune my virgynalles. 1567Triall Treas. (1850) 16, I must tune my pipes first of all by drinking. 1584Greene Anat. Fort. Wks. (Grosart) III. 187, I thought..that where fortune once tuned, in the strings could neuer be found anie discord. 15971st Pt. Return fr. Parnass. v. i. 1978 Letts tune our instruments. 1638in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) II. 142 Mr Dallam for tuneing the Organ. 1681Dryden Span. Friar ii. i. 21 Tune your Harps Ye Angels to that sound. 1871Tyndall Fragm. Sc. (1879) I. iii. 81 These two tuning-forks are tuned absolutely alike.
b. To adapt (the voice, song, etc.) to a particular tone, or to the expression of a particular feeling or subject; to modify or modulate the tones of, according to the purpose in view.
† In 1688, to adapt (a song) to a particular instrument (obs.).
1596Spenser F.Q. vi. x. 7 Nymphes and Faeries..to the waters fall tuning their accents fit. c1630Milton Passion 8 For now to sorrow must I tune my song. 1688R. Holme Armoury iii. 201/2 Odes [are] Songs Tuned to the Lute, or other Instrument. 1702Pope Sappho 8 Love..tun'd my heart to Elegies of woe. 1751Transl. & Paraphr. Ch. Scot. xliii. iv, His presence fills each heart with joy: tunes every mouth to sing. 1852C. M. Yonge Cameos I. xxxiii. 282 The bards tuned their songs to recall the indignities of Islington.
c. transf. To adapt, put into accordance, or make responsive, in respect of some physical quality or condition; e.g. an organ or organism in relation to a particular stimulus, or the transmitter and receiver in wireless telegraphy. spec. To make (a radio or television) sensitive to a chosen signal frequency or wavelength; to adjust (any device or component) by varying its operational frequency. Also absol.
1887Lockyer Chem. Sun vii. 87 Ears are tuned to hear different sounds. 1899Notices Proc. R. Inst. XV. 475 It is easy to transmit many messages in any direction at the same time. It is only necessary to tune the transmitters and receivers to the same frequency or ‘note’... Tuning is very easy. 1900Daily News 6 Sept. 2/4 ‘Tapping’ the messages is quite impossible, the transmitter and receiver being so ‘tuned’ or synchronized to each other that no message can be received except by the instrument for which it is intended. 1904Electr. World & Engin. 11 June 1120 The distance between the transmitter and receiver was varied from two meters to twenty meters. No effort was made to ‘tune’ the circuits. 1915W. H. Eccles Wireless Telegr. 304 The primary— i.e., the antenna—is tuned to the incoming waves. 1943C. L. Boltz Basic Radio xii. 192 At the transmitter..the LC circuit is tuned to produce free oscillations at a chosen frequency. 1972Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 3 Mar. 17 For several months an 85 foot radio telescope, tuned to 21 centimetres, was aimed at the stars Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani. 1974Guardian 23 Mar. 10/1 The kind of programme listeners tune to, broadcasters respect, and disc critics certainly rarely miss. 1975D. G. Fink Electronics Engineers' Handbk. xiii. 74 Solid-state microwave masers can be tuned over a wide range of frequencies by adjustment of an external magnetic field.
d. transf. To set (a machine, etc.) in order for accurate working (local); to adjust. In mod. use, to adjust (an engine or part) to improve its efficiency or some other attribute; also with the vehicle or craft as obj. (Cf. tuner 2 b.) See also 10 c, and tuning 1 c.
1814W. Nicholson in Trotter E. Galloway Sk. (1901) 44/1, I wot a pleugh he weel could tune. 1891[see tuning vbl. n. 1 c]. c1904in Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., He tunes his own loom (w. Yks.). 1916R. T. Nicholson Bk. of Ford 151 You know now how to ‘tune’ your carburetter for the best results. 1931T. E. Lawrence Let. 10 June (1938) 724 The R.A.F. detached me to Hythe on special duty, to test and tune their new-type speed-boats for the Schneider Cup. 1955Times 23 Aug. 7/6 The Rootes Group have chosen..an engine..and have tuned it for economy and longevity rather than maximum efficiency. 1978R. Westall Devil on Road i. 3, I can strip her [sc. a motor-bike] in a day and put it all back. Tuned her like Yehudi Menuhin's violin.
2. fig. To ‘put in tune’ (with various shades of meaning).
a. To bring into a proper or desirable condition; to give a special tone or character (esp. of a good kind) to.
1530Rastell Bk. Purgat. ii. xviii, Curyng & tunyng his body. 1639Fuller Holy War ii. xviii. (1647) 68 All his life was religiously tuned. c1811Fuseli in Lect. Paint. v. (1848) 461 Violent foreshortening, set off and tuned by magic light and shade. 1866G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. xiii, The place.. tuned me to a solemn mood.
b. To bring into accord or harmony; to attune. Also intr. for refl. to attune itself, to harmonize (quot. 1653).
1590Marlowe Edw. II, iv. ii, Thou art deceiv'd,..To think that we can yet be tun'd together. 1653Holcroft Procopius iv. 137 Mens judgements ever thus tune to that which pleases their wills. a1711Ken Hymnotheo Poet. Wks. 1721 III. 310 They both were tun'd with equal Sympathy.
c. To put into a proper condition for producing some effect; to adapt to a particular purpose; esp. to make subservient to one's own ends.
1581G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iii. (1586) 168 b, The maister is troubled to tune his new seruaunts to his fancie. 1636W. Scot Apol. Narr. (1846) 93 Mr. Thomas Buchanan tuned and tutored him as he saw it fitting. a1722Fountainhall Decis. (1759) I. 184 A Scots Council is instantly called, who..fly very high, as they had been tuned. 1868J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. I. 161 The most effective way, except the pulpit, of tuning public opinion. 1882Ibid. II. 483 The pulpits were industriously tuned by means of lecturers.
3. a. intr. To give forth a musical sound; to sound; to sing.
c1500Proverbs in Antiq. Rep. (1809) IV. 407 A Shawme makithe a swete sounde, for he tunythe basse. c1580–1627 [implied in tuner 1]. 1760–72[see tuning vbl. n. 2]. 1906Westm. Gaz. 10 Nov. 14/2 Last week..I heard a blackbird tuning. 1907Galsworthy Country Ho. i. i, Like a breeze tuning through the frigid silence of a fog.
b. with to: To sing or sound in tune with (intr. of 1 b).
1627Drayton Quest of Cynthia xxxiv, Tuning to the waters fall, The small Birds sang to her. 1755Johnson, Tune, to form one sound to another.
c. To utter inarticulate musical notes or melody; to hum. dial.
1755Johnson, To Tune, v.n...2. To utter with the voice inarticulate harmony. 1848A. B. Evans Leicester. Words s.v., My children could tune before they could speak. 1882in Ogilvie.
4. a. trans. To utter or express (something) musically, to sing; to celebrate in music. poet. or arch.
1593Shakes. Lucr. 1107 The little birds that tune their mornings ioy. 1667Milton P.L. v. 196 Fountains and yee that warble, as ye flow, Melodious murmurs, warbling tune his praise. 1678Dryden & Lee Œdipus i. i, Rouze up ye Thebans; tune your Io Pæans! 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 542 To Bacchus..let us tune our Lays. 1791Burns Lament for Glencairn ii, As he tuned his doleful sang. a1814A. Burn in Mem. iii. (1816) 135 Tuning a hymn of thanksgiving to her praise.
†b. To set or start the tune for (a hymn, etc. in public worship), as a precentor. Obs.
1667Pepys Diary 21 Apr., The organ, which is handsome, and tunes the psalm. 1679Marriage Chas. II 10 The Cardinal tun'd the Te deum, which was sung with musick. 1895J. Brown Pilgr. Fathers xi. 349 The ‘tuning the psalm’ as it was called was left to some member of the congregation who volunteered the performance.
5. To produce music from, to play upon (an instrument), esp. the lyre. poet.
1701Addison Epil. to Granville's Brit. Enchant. Wks. 1721 I. 142 When Orpheus tun'd his lyre..Rivers forgot to run, and winds to blow. 1746Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. iii. 16 To tune to Theban Sounds the Roman Lyres.
6. intr. Of a radio, etc.: to be capable of being tuned.
1922Wireless World 1 July 435/1 Will the Reinartz Tuner tune to any wavelength by means of external coils? 1930J. H. Reyner Testing Radio Sets iv. 55 It may be found that the circuit does not tune correctly when the aerial is connected to its proper terminal. 1970J. Earl Tuners & Amplifiers i. 23 The f.m. section will..tune over Band II, usually from about 88 to 108MHz.
II. With adverbs.
7. tune in.
a. intr. To strike into a chorus; to interpose in a conversation.
1912World 7 May 680/1 The..Passenger is preparing to continue the cross-examination, when an old lady carrying a long broom tunes in.
b. trans. and intr. To tune a radio or television to (a particular station or transmission, or a particular frequency). Freq. to tune in on or tune in to. Also transf.
1913Wireless World Apr. p. xxxviii/1 It is possible to tune out one ship or station and tune in others. 1919Ibid. May 105/2 Operators at the various Government wireless stations in and about town, who promptly ‘tuned in’ and listened. 1922Westm. Gaz. 12 Dec., While listening-in on a Lincoln wireless company's apparatus..Mr. H. Mawer was successful in tuning in to an American broadcasting station. 1929S. W. Cheney Theatre xxiv. 536 A million or so people may..sit in their parlors and ‘tune in’ on a song by Al Jolson or a scene from Twelfth Night. 1935S. Lewis It can't happen Here 52 He tuned in on a program of old songs. 1936Auden & Isherwood Ascent of F6 (1937) II. iii. 102 Turn off the wireless. Tune in to another station. 1956R. M. Lester Towards Hereafter 18 This higher range of inspirational thought is constantly being radiated, and each one of us in his own capacity can tune into it. 1957A. C. Clarke Deep Range xii. 104 This was a simple enough task for the sub's frequency converters; if he wished, Franklin could tune in to any sounds from almost a million cycles a second down to vibrations as sluggish as the slow opening of an ancient, rusty door. 1964Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 12 Jan. (1970) 42 We tuned in on my TV appearance in ‘The Week That Was’. 1976Shooting Times & Country Mag. 16–22 Dec. 30/3 The Indians when on a hunt think of anything but their quarry, as they believe that the hunted can ‘tune in’ on their thoughts. 1977‘J. Fraser’ Hearts Ease in Death vii. 61 You make it sound like a radio serial. Tune in next week for the latest episode.
c. fig. To become mentally receptive to, or aware of; to comprehend. Const. as prec. sense.
1926Variety 29 Dec. 5/4 Those fortunate individuals who can tune in on the conversation of a flock of cannons and follow it without the aid of a central office dick or an interpreter. 1961A. Miller Misfits ii. 18 His mind is constantly trying to tune in on the world, but the message is never clear. 1977R. Gadney Champagne Marxist xiii. 84 He'd been so slow in tuning in to the presence of an intruder.
d. fig. To harmonize with.
1938L. MacNeice I crossed Minch ii. 25, I had a passion for the wild... This tuned in with my other passions for the antique, the fantastic,..and the Irish.
8. tune off.
a. intr. To get out of ‘tune’ or adjustment.
1703T. N. City & C. Purchaser (1736), Raking-Work, that which (..in Mouldings, etc.) is to be join'd by Mitering exactly, to prevent the Work tuneing off, as Workmen call it, after 'tis put together.
b. trans. and intr. = tune out (sense 9 below). Also fig. rare.
1926Maines & Grant Wise-Crack Dict. 14/1 Tune off that station, change the conversation. 1931F. A. Arnold Broadcast Advertising 140 The public has its own method of self protection. The listener may..tune off and find some program less offensive. 1957Practical Wireless XXXIII. 721/1 When the input signal decreases, as one tunes off the station, the valve will conduct.
9. tune out.
a. trans. To eliminate reception of (a radio signal of a particular frequency) by tuning.
1908Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 1907 621 It is easy to hear the ships in the Channel, but it is also easy to tune everything out and listen to the desired station alone. 1913[see sense 7 b above]. 1957Practical Wireless XXXIII. 722/1 When..the signal is tuned out, the voltage at point A drops. 1970J. Earl Tuners & Amplifiers ii. 47 The filter tunes out the 19kHz pilot carrier. 1981G. MacBeth Kind of Treason xiii. 124 Strand was kneeling at the radio. He found the station and tuned the static out.
b. fig. To disregard; to cease listening to.
1928T. E. Lawrence Let. 1 May (1938) 599 In the East..you hear everything that's happening, and a great deal more. The selective ear tunes out the false news. 1969Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 5 July 28 If you don't like what I say, you can tune me out. 1970E. G. Olim in S. Rogers Children & Language (1975) v. 322 He learns, as a result of failure and frustration in school, either to tune out the school or to adopt a defiant, rebellious attitude towards it. 1978G. A. Sheehan Running & Being iii. 38, I have the ability to tune out what is going on around me.
10. tune up.
a. trans. and intr. To raise one's voice (in song or otherwise), to sing out (cf. 3).
1701Stanhope St. Aug. Medit. xxvi. 54 Let us tune our Voices up with theirs. 1763T. Smith Jrnl. (1849) 274 The robin and spring birds begin to tune up. 1895J. G. Millais Breath fr. Veldt (1899) 202, I have heard an old cow tune up in like manner.
b. trans. To bring (an instrument) up to the proper pitch, to put in tune (= 1); also fig. (cf. 2). Now usu. absol.
a1718Penn Maxims Wks. 1726 I. 830 We are too apt to awaken and tune up their [Children's] Passions by the Example of our own. 1776Graves Euphrosyne i. 224 Each Cockney that tunes up his lyre. 1869W. S. Gilbert Bab Ballads 182 He requested them to tune up and begin. 1902V. Jacob Sheep-Stealers x, The band began to tune up, and a general feeling of expectation pervaded the building. 1929W. Faulkner Sound & Fury 31 ‘Now you got to tune up.’ Dilsey said. 1981A. Schlee Rhine Journey xii. 154 Already the orchestra was tuning up for the next waltz.
c. To put (a machine, a racing vessel, etc.) into the most efficient working order (cf. 1 d).
1901Daily Chron. 24 Aug. 5/7 The..captain will keep all hands at work tuning her [a yacht] up until she is able to show all the speed she has in her. 1908Westm. Gaz. 31 Dec. 4/2 The art of tuning up a car is understood by very few amateurs, who..are satisfied with results which could be improved upon.
▪ III. † tune|tyn|
early ME. form of tyne, tine v.1 (OE. týnan), to close, shut; to fence or enclose.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 49 Þe mon þe tuneð his eren in halie chirche toȝeines godes laȝe. Ibid., Þe put ne tuneð noht..his muð ouer us bute we tunen ure muð. a1225Ancr. R. 80 Vuel speche; þat ȝe þertoȝeines tunen ower earen. 1605Verstegan Dec. Intell. ix. (1628) 295 His Cote or house was fenced or tuned about.
▪ IV. tune
anglicized form of tuna1. |