See Also: gamut(dictionary)
gamut(dictionary)

gamut (iou)



gamut noun. LME.
[Contr. of medieval Latin gamma ut, from GAMMA name of the symbol (repr. in the Middle Ages a note one tone lower than A) + UT first of the six notes forming a hexachord.]
I. Music.
Hist. The lowest note on the medieval sequence of hexachords, equal to modern G on the lowest line of the bass stave. LME.
Hist. A large scale (ascribed to Guido d'Arezzo), formed of seven hexachords or partial scales, and containing all the recognized notes used in medieval music. L15.
The full range of notes which a voice or instrument can produce. M17.
The major diatonic scale; the scale recognized by any particular people or in any period. E18.
II.
transf. & fig. The whole range or scope of something. E17.
C. Beaton Her resonant voice covers the gamut from an emphatic whisper to an..almost Rabelaisian roar.