[UNDER-1 9 b.] A subdued note; an undertone or suggestion.
1820. Shelley, Prometh. Unb., IV. 189. Listen too, How every pause is filled with under-notes.
1857. W. Collins, Dead Secret, III. iii. There was an under-note of pleasure running through its tones.
1873. Symonds, Grk. Poets, viii. 257. The deep under-note of good sense and wisdom which gives eternal value to the jests of Aristophanes.
