a. and sb. [ad. med.L. atonicus, f. Gr. ἄτον-ος without tone (f. ἀ priv. + τόνος stretch, strain, stress, tone, f. τείν-ειν to stretch); see -IC.] A. adj.
1. Pros. Not having an accent, unaccented; usually, not bearing the stress or syllabic accent, as ‘the atonic syllables of a word,’ ‘an atonic vowel.’
1878. Kitchen, trans. Brachet’s Etym. Fr. Dict., § 50. Every atonic Latin vowel, in the last syllable of a word disappears in French.
2. Path. Wanting tone; characterized by want of tone or nervous elasticity in the system.
1792. Gentl. Mag., May, 448. Recommended in the atonic gout.
1843. C. Williams, Princ. Med., iii. § 494. Atonic enlargement of the capillaries.
1861. Sat. Rev., 7 Sept., 240. We live in what is delicately called an atonic age. Medical science is devoted constantly to the task of fanning into a sickly flame the sparks of life.
B. sb.
1. Pros. A word or element of speech not having an accent. (Used spec. in Greek Grammar of the words ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, ἐν, ἐς, εἰς, ἐκ, ἐξ, εἰ, οὐ, ὡς.)
1727–51. Chambers, Cycl., s.v. Accent, Words which have no accent are called Atonics.
1874. Parry, Grk. Gram., 172. Ten monosyllables (called Atonics or Proclitics) have no accents.
2. Med. ‘A remedy having power to allay excitement.’ Syd. Soc. Lex., 1881.
1864. in Webster.
