SYS"I'YI,E, in architecture, the disposi Lion of columns in n building near to earls other, hut not quite so thick as the pyc nostyle : the intercolumnial ion being only two diameters of the column.
SYSY'ti IA, in music, any combination of sounds so proportioned to each other as to produce a pleasant effect on the ear.—In grammar, the coupling different feet together in Greek or Latin verse T, is the twentieth letter of the Eng lish Alphabet. and a close consonant. It represents a close joining of the end of the tongue to the rout of the upper teeth, as may be perceived by the syllable, at, et, at, id, in attempting to pronounce which, the voice is completely intercept ed. It is therefore numbered among the mutes, or close articulations, and it dif fers from d chiefly in its closeness; for in pronouncing ad, ed, we perceive the voice is not so suddenly and entirely in tercepted, as in pronouncing at and et. T by itself has one sound only, as in take, turn, bat, bolt, smite, bitter. So we are accustomed to speak ; but in reality, t can hardly be said to have any sound at all. Its use, like that of all mute articula tions, is to modify the manner of uttering the vocal sound which precedes or follows it. When t is followed by h, as in think and that, the combination really forms a dis tinct sound for which we have no single character. This combination has two
sounds in English ; aspirated, as in think, and vocal, as in that. The letters ti, be fore a vowel, and unaccented, usually pass into the sound of sh, as in nation, ?notion, partial, substantiate ; which are pronounced nushon, moshon, parshal, substanshate. In this case, t loses en tirely its proper sound or use, and being blended with the subsequent letter, a new sound results from the combination, which is in fact a simple sound. In a few words, the combination of ti has the sound of the English ch, as in Christian, miltion, question. T is convertible with d. Thus the Germans write tag, where we write day, and gut for good. It is also con vertible with s and z, for the Germans write wasser, for water, and zahm. for tame. T, as an abbreviation, stands for theolagia ; as, S. T. D. sancten theologim doctor, doctor of divinity. In ancient monuments and writings, T is an abbre viature which stands for Titus, Titius, or a numeral, T, among the Latins, stood for 160, and with a dash over the top, T, for 160,000.--In music, 'f is the initial of tenor, vocal, and instru mental.