out-of-tune
UK[ˌaʊt.əv.ˈtjuːn]US[ˌaʊt.əv.ˈtuːn]
adj
Not in the correct musical pitch; sounding wrong or discordant.
adj
Not in agreement or harmony; inappropriate or unsuitable.
Morpheme Breakdown
out
of
tune
out
outside
of
from
tune
melody
Etymology
The compound adjective "out-of-tune" is a transparent English formation built from native and borrowed elements. Its core concept, "tune," entered English via French and Latin from the Greek 'tonos,' which originally meant "a stretching, tension," evolving to signify a musical note or melody. The prepositional phrase "out of," with its Old English roots meaning "away from," is used figuratively to indicate a state of deviation or separation from a norm. Thus, the literal logic of being "away from the correct melody" directly yields the modern meanings, first describing musical discord and later extending metaphorically to any lack of harmony or suitability.
Analysis
Structure: out (outside) + of (from) + tune (melody)
- out: Old English 'ūt', meaning "outside, outward, away." In this compound, it functions as an adverb indicating deviation or separation.
- of: Old English 'of, af', meaning "away, away from." It functions as a preposition linking the state of being 'out' from the standard.
- tune: Middle English, from Old English 'tune' and Old French 'ton', from Latin 'tonus' (sound, tone), from Greek 'tonos' (tension, tone). It functions as the noun representing the standard of correct musical pitch or harmony.
Examples
The old piano was painfully out-of-tune.
His cynical remarks felt out-of-tune with the celebratory mood of the evening.
A singer going out-of-tune can disrupt the entire performance.