semitone

Noun
Synonyms: half step

Open English WordNet

Noun (1)

  1. the musical interval between adjacent keys on a keyboard instrumentSynonyms: half stepType of interval, musical interval
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Sem′i·tone noun

Origin: Pref. semi- + tone. CF. Hemitone.

Music Half a tone; — the name commonly applied to the smaller intervals of the diatonic scale.

☞ There is an impropriety in the use of this word, and half step is now preferred. See Tone. John S. Dwight

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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