Etymology

hypersonic

H4Y4P3E1R1S1O1N1I1C3

Today it means: Of a speed, equal to, or greater than, or capable of achieving, five times the speed of sound. Full definition →

English sonic ← Latin sonus ← Proto-Indo-European *swónh₂os
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Hellenic*hupér
  4. Ancient Greekῠ̔πέρ (hŭpér)
  5. Ancient Greekῠ̔περ- (hŭper-)
  6. Englishhyper-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*swenh₂-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*swónh₂os
  9. Latinsonus
  10. Englishsonic
  11. English todayhypersonic

From hyper- + sonic. Doublet of supersonic.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.