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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Diatonic \Di'a*ton"ic\ (d[imac]'[.a]*t[o^]n"[i^]k), adjective [L. diatonicus, diatonus, Gr. ?, ?, fr. ? to stretch out; dia' through + ? to stretch: cf. F. diatonique. See {Tone}.] (Mus.) Pertaining to the scale of eight tones, the eighth of which is the octave of the first.
{Diatonic scale} (Mus.), a scale consisting of eight sounds with seven intervals, of which two are semitones and five are whole tones; a modern major or minor scale, as distinguished from the {chromatic} scale.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
diatonic
adjective
1: based on the standard major or minor scales consisting of 5 tones and 2 semitones without modulation by accidentals [ant: {chromatic}]
2: based on or using the five tones and two semitones of the major or minor scales of Western music
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