源etymfun
About

Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

sound

/ˈsaʊ̯nd/
Healthy.

    Etymology graph

    • inherited
    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
    React Flow
    Press enter or space to select a node. You can then use the arrow keys to move the node around. Press delete to remove it and escape to cancel.
    Press enter or space to select an edge. You can then press delete to remove it or escape to cancel.

    Click a node to zoom in · double-click to open it

    Origin

    Etymology 1

    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.

    Etymology 2

    * 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.

    Etymology 3

    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.

    Etymology 4

    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.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishsound
      • inheritedOld Englishsund “sound, safe, whole, uninjured, healthy, prosperous”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*sund
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*sundaz “healthy”
        • inheritedOld Englishġesund “sound, safe, healthy”
          • inheritedProto-West Germanic*gasund
        • derivedOld Norsesund “channel, inlet, strait”
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*sundą “swimming; sound”
            • derivedProto-Indo-European*swem- “swimming; sea”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishsownde
      • derivedAnglo-Normansun
        • derivedOld Frenchson
          • derivedLatinsonus “sound”
            • derived (ultimately)Proto-Indo-European*swenh₂- “to sound, resound”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishsownden
        • derivedAnglo-Normansuner
          • derivedOld Frenchsoner
            • derivedLatinsonō “make a noise, sound, resound”
              • inheritedProto-Italic*swonaō
    • inheritedMiddle Englishsounden
      • derivedOld Frenchsonder

    Related: Scots sound, Saterland Frisian suund, West Frisian sûn, Dutch gezond, Low German sund, German gesund, Danish sund, Swedish sund, Dutch gezwind, German geschwind, Old English swīþ, Dutch zond, Icelandic sund, German Sund, Old English sundgyrd, Old English sund

    Meanings

    adj
    1. Healthy.
    2. Complete, solid, or secure.
    3. Having the property of soundness.
    4. Good; acceptable; decent.
    5. Quiet and deep.
    6. Heavy; laid on with force.
    adv
    1. Soundly.
    intj
    1. Yes; used to show agreement or understanding.
    noun
    1. A sensation perceived by the ear caused by the vibration of air or some other medium.
    2. A vibration capable of causing such sensations.
    3. A distinctive style and sonority of a particular musician, orchestra etc.
    4. Noise without meaning; empty noise.
    5. Earshot, distance within which a certain noise may be heard.
    6. A segment as a part of spoken language, the smallest unit of spoken language, a speech sound.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: sound