Tone (t?n), (Theobald) Wolfe 1763-1798. Irish nationalist who was a founder of the Society of the United Irishmen and worked for Catholic emancipation. He participated in a failed French invasion of Ireland (1796), was captured, and died in prison.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.