To hill or valley, fountain, or fresh shade, Made
vocal by my song. --Milton.
2. Uttered or modulated by the voice; oral; as, vocal melody;
vocal prayer. ``Vocal worship.'' --Milton.
3. Of or pertaining to a vowel or voice sound; also, ?poken
with tone, intonation, and resonance; sonant; sonorous; --
said of certain articulate sounds.
4. (Phon.)
(a) Consisting of, or characterized by, voice, or tone
produced in the larynx, which may be modified, either
by resonance, as in the case of the vowels, or by
obstructive action, as in certain consonants, such as
v, l, etc., or by both, as in the nasals m, n, ng;
sonant; intonated; voiced. See {Voice}, and {Vowel},
also Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 199-202.
(b) Of or pertaining to a vowel; having the character of a
vowel; vowel.
{Vocal cords} or {chords}. (Anat.) See {Larynx}, and the Note
under {Voice}, n., 1.
{Vocal fremitus} [L. fremitus a dull roaring or murmuring]
(Med.), the perceptible vibration of the chest wall,
produced by the transmission of the sonorous vibrations
during the act of using the voice.
{Vocal music}, music made by the voice, in distinction from
{instrumental music}; hence, music or tunes set to words,
to be performed by the human voice.
{Vocal tube} (Anat.), the part of the air passages above the
inferior ligaments of the larynx, including the passages
through the nose and mouth.
2. (Mus.) A combination of tones simultaneously performed,
producing more or less perfect harmony, as, the common
chord.
3. (Geom.) A right line uniting the extremities of the arc of
a circle or curve.
4. (Anat.) A cord. See {Cord}, n., 4.
5. (Engin.) The upper or lower part of a truss, usually
horizontal, resisting compression or tension. --Waddell.
{Accidental, Common, & Vocal} {chords}. See under
{Accidental}, {Common}, and {Vocal}.
{Chord of an arch}. See Illust. of {Arch}.
{Chord of curvature}, a chord drawn from any point of a
curve, in the circle of curvature for that point.
{Scale of chords}. See {Scale}.