sound

sound · adjective, adverb, interjection¹

1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*gasund
2. Old English · inherited fromġesund
3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*sundaz“healthy”
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*sund
5. Old English · inherited fromsund“sound, safe, whole, uninjured, healthy, prosperous”
6. Middle English · inherited fromsound
7. English todaysound

From 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.

sound · noun, verb²

1. Latin · derived fromsonō
2. Old French · derived fromsoner
3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromsuner
4. Middle English · inherited fromsownden
5. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*swenh₂-“to sound, resound”
6. Latin · derived fromsonus
7. Old French · derived fromson
8. Anglo-Norman · derived fromsun
9. Middle English · inherited fromsownde
10. English todaysound

* Noun: from Middle English sownde, alteration of soun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman sun, soun, Old French son, from accusative of Latin sonus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- (“to sound, resound”). * Verb: from Middle English sownden, sounen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman suner, sounder, Old French soner (modern sonner), from Latin sonō. * The hypercorrect -d appears in the fifteenth century. (Compare dialectal drownd, gownd for the same development.) Displaced native Middle English swei, from Old English swēġ, from Proto-Germanic *swōgiz.

sound · noun³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*swem-“swimming; sea”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*sundą“swimming; sound”
3. Old Norse · derived fromsund“channel, inlet, strait”
4. Old English · inherited fromsund“the power, capacity, or act of swimming; swimming; sea; ocean; water; sound; strait; channel”
5. Middle English · inherited fromsound
6. English todaysound

From Middle English sound, sund (“body of water; swimming; air bladder of a fish”), from Old English sund (“the power, capacity, or act of swimming; swimming; sea; ocean; water; sound; strait; channel”), Old Norse sund (“channel, inlet, strait”), from Proto-Germanic *sundą (“swimming; sound”), from Proto-Indo-European *swem- (“swimming; sea”). Cognate with Dutch zond (“sound; strait”), Danish sund (“sound; strait; channel”), Swedish sund (“sound; strait; channel”), Icelandic sund (“sound; strait; channel”), German Sund. Related to swim.

sound · verb, noun⁴

1. Old French · derived fromsonder
2. Middle English · inherited fromsounden
3. English todaysound

From Middle English sounden, from Old French sonder, from sonde (“sounding line”) of Germanic origin, compare Old English sundgyrd (“a sounding rod”), sundline (“a sounding line”), Old English sund (“water, sea”). More at Etymology 3 above.

Sound · proper noun⁵

From the common noun sound (“strait, inlet”).

Words from the same roots