Flatted

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An expression indicating that something has been made flat or leveled
2. A musical term describing a note that has been lowered in pitch by a semitone
3. Referring to a particular state or adjustment in the context of various fields such as music or manufacturing

Etymology: "Flatted" is the past tense of "flat" in the sense of lowering a musical note's pitch. The adjective "flat" came into English in Middle English from Old Norse "flatr," a Viking-age word that shares its root with Ancient Greek "platús" ("broad"), so the same ancient idea of width sits behind a Scandinavian import and a Greek adjective. Its musical sense, meaning a note a half step below the natural, is a later extension of the basic idea of something level or lowered. The verb "flatten," which gives the past tense "flatted" in some uses, is older than the musical sense and came into English from Old French "flatir," meaning "to knock or strike down." That French word traces back to a Germanic root meaning "to move the palm of the hand," so the notion of pressing something down is built into its history. "Flatted" as a musical term follows the adjective rather than that verb, since a flatted note is simply one lowered in pitch.

Synonyms: flattened, leveled, smoothed, pressed, squashed

Antonyms: raised, elevated, bulged, rounded, protruded