major third
major third noun: a musical interval in Western music that is equal to or approximates a frequency ratio of 5/4. In twelve-tone equal temperament, it consists of four standard semitones, spans three degrees of the diatonic scale, and is enharmonically equivalent to a diminished fourth. Major scales are so named because of the major third interval between the tonic and mediant of a major tonic triad.
Noun
major third (plural major thirds)
- A musical interval in Western music that is equal to or approximates a frequency ratio of 5/4. In twelve-tone equal temperament, it consists of four standard semitones, spans three degrees of the diatonic scale, and is enharmonically equivalent to a diminished fourth. Major scales are so named because of the major third interval between the tonic and mediant of a major tonic triad.
Forms of major third
| plural | major thirds |
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Questions about major third
- What does major third mean?
- Major third means a musical interval in Western music that is equal to or approximates a frequency ratio of 5/4. In twelve-tone equal temperament, it consists of four standard semitones, spans three degrees of the diatonic scale, and is enharmonically equivalent to a diminished fourth. Major scales are so named because of the major third interval between the tonic and mediant of a major tonic triad.
- What part of speech is major third?
- Major third is a noun.
- What is the plural of major third?
- The plural of major third is major thirds.
Words near major third in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: major third (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “major third.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/major_third. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.