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Tony

[TOH-nee]

Part of speech: adjective

Origin: American English, late 19th century

1.

(North American) Fashionable among wealthy or stylish people.

Examples of Tony in a sentence

"Jon and Erica lived in an elite, tony neighborhood."

"The up-and-coming designer was building a reputation among tony clients."

About Tony

This is an American English slang term, stemming from the Old French “ton,” meaning “musical sound, speech, words.” This is from the Latin “tonus,” for “a sound, tone, accent.”

Did you Know?

Tony! Toni! Toné! was an American R&B group that was popular in the early to mid-1990s. Fans often asked how the trio came up with their band name, and one of the founding members, D'Wayne Wiggins, told an interviewer it came from a playful saying. “Our name for the group, Tony! Toni! Toné!, was a nickname that we had for how we used to get dressed to go out partying. When we used to put on our clothes and get fly, we would say, ‘Yeah. Tony! Toni! Toné!’”

illustration Tony

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