/saʊnd/, /sæʊn/, /suːnd/
OriginFrom Middle English sound, sund, isund, ȝesund, from Old English sund (“sound, safe, whole, uninjured, healthy, prosperous”), from Proto-West Germanic *sund, from Proto-Germanic *sundaz (“healthy”), merged with synonymous Old English ġesund, from Proto-West Germanic *gasund.
Cognate with Scots sound, soun (“healthy, sound”), Saterland Frisian suund, gesuund (“healthy”), West Frisian sûn (“healthy”), Dutch gezond (“healthy, sound”), Low German sund, gesund (“healthy”), German gesund (“healthy, sound”), Danish sund (“healthy”), Swedish sund (“sound, healthy”). Possibly related also to Dutch gezwind (“fast, quick”), German geschwind (“fast, quick”), Old English swīþ (“strong, mighty, powerful, active, severe, violent”). See swith.
- Healthy.
“He was safe and sound.”
“In horse management a sound horse is one with no health problems that might affect its suitability for its intended work.”
“on the 29th of September 1840, in consideration that the plaintiff, at the request of the defendant, had bought of the defendant a certain horse, at a certain price, to wit, 30l., the defendant promis”
- Complete, solid, or secure.
“Fred assured me the floorboards were sound.”
“The brasswork here, how rich it is in beams, / And how, besides, it makes the whole house sound.”
“Refurbishing Okehampton station, kept basically sound under ownership by Devon Council, remains a work in progress and scheduled for completion next spring.”
- Having the property of soundness.
“With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirabl”
- British, Ireland, slangGood; acceptable; decent.
“How are you? —I'm sound.”
“That's a sound track you're playing.”
“See that man over there? He's sound. You should get to know him.”
- Quiet and deep.
“Sound asleep means sleeping peacefully, and often deeply.”
“Her sleep was sound.”
“a sound night’s sleep”
- Heavy; laid on with force.
- Founded in law; legal; valid; not defective.
- Soundly.
“So ſound he ſlept, that nought mought him awake.”
- British, Ireland, slangYes; used to show agreement or understanding.
“I found my jacket. — Sound.”
- countable, uncountableA sensation perceived by the ear caused by the vibration of air or some other medium.
“He turned when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Nobody made a sound.”
“The warlike sound / Of trumpets loud and clarions.”
“Through all the Worlds are sounds, the noises of moving, and the echoes of voices and song; but upon the River is no sound ever heard, for there all echoes die.”
- countable, uncountableA vibration capable of causing such sensations.
“In trumpets for assisting the hearing, all reverbation of the trumpet must be avoided. It must be made thick, of the least elastic materials, and covered with cloth externally. For all reverbation las”
“It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street.[…]. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until th”
- countable, uncountableA distinctive style and sonority of a particular musician, orchestra etc.
“He looks like he's got it, maybe. Listen to those kids!/There's no maybe about it. That's it, that's the sound.”
- countable, uncountableNoise without meaning; empty noise.
“For let us conſider this Prepoſition as to its meaning, (for it is the ſence, and not ſound, that is and muſt be the Principle or common Notion) […]”
- countable, uncountableEarshot, distance within which a certain noise may be heard.
“Stay within the sound of my voice.”
- countable, uncountableA segment as a part of spoken language, the smallest unit of spoken language, a speech sound.
- A long narrow inlet, or a strait between the mainland and an island; also, a strait connecting two seas, or connecting a sea or lake with the ocean.
“Puget Sound; Owen Sound; Long Island Sound”
“The Sound of Denmarke, where ships pay toll.”
- The air bladder of a fish.
“Cod sounds are an esteemed article of food.”
“The head was chopped off, the belly opened, the liver set aside--sometimes along with the roe, sounds, throats, and other items.”
- A long, thin probe for sounding or dilating body cavities or canals such as the urethra; a sonde.
“Most mild cases respond very nicely to such relatively simple office procedures as dilatations with sounds of increasing calibre, followed by the instillation of an ounce of 5 per cent argyrol in the ”
- intransitiveTo produce a sound.
“When the horn sounds, take cover.”
- copulativeTo convey an impression by one's sound.
“He sounded good when we last spoke.”
“That story sounds like a pack of lies!”
“How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues!”
- intransitiveTo be conveyed in sound; to be spread or published; to convey intelligence by sound.
“For from you ſounded out the worde of the Lord, not in Macedonia & in Achaia onely: but your faith alſo which is towarde God, ſpred abroade in all quarters, that we nede not to ſpeake any thing.”
- intransitive, obsoleteTo resound.
- intransitive, oftenTo arise or to be recognizable as arising in or from a particular area of law, or as likely to result in a particular kind of legal remedy.
“In my opinion this claim sounds in damages rather than in an injunction.”
“[…]there can be no doubt that claims brought pursuant to § 1983 sound in tort.”
- transitiveTo cause to produce a sound.
“Sound the alarm!”
“He sounds the instrument.”
“If a train enters the forward section before its description has been transmitted, a "not described" lamp is illuminated on the transmitter, an alarm buzzer is sounded, and the lamp remains alight unt”
- transitiveTo pronounce.
“The "e" in "house" isn't sounded.”
- intransitiveOf a whale, to dive downwards.
“The whale sounded and eight hundred feet of heavy line streaked out of the line tub before he ended his dive.”
- To ascertain, or to try to ascertain, the thoughts, motives, and purposes of (a person); to examine; to try; to test; to probe.
“When I sounded him, he appeared to favor the proposed deal.”
“Tell me moreouer, haſt thou ſounded him,/If he appeale the Duke on ancient malice,/Or worthily as a good ſubiect ſhould/On ſome knowne ground of treacherie in him.”
“I was in Jeſt: / And by that offer meant to ſound your breaſt.”
- To fathom or test; to ascertain the depth of water with a sounding line or other device.
“Mariners on sailing ships would sound the depth of the water with a weighted rope.”
“As when the Sea-man […]/All fearefull foldes his ſailes, and ſounds the maine,/Lifting his prayers to the heauens for aid,/Againſt the terrour of the winds and waues.”
- To examine with the instrument called a sound or sonde, or by auscultation or percussion.
“to sound a patient, or the bladder or urethra”
- The strait that separates Zealand (an island of Denmark) from Scania (part of Sweden); also sometimes called by the Danish name, Øresund.
- Synonym of Plymouth Sound, Devon, England.
Formssounder(comparative) · soundest(superlative) · soune(alternative, obsolete) · sownd(alternative, obsolete) · sowne(alternative, obsolete) · more sound(comparative) · most sound(superlative) · sounds(plural) · sounds(present, singular, third-person) · sounding(participle, present) · sounded(participle, past) · sounded(past) · The Sound(canonical)