sound

1.
n. & v.
—n.
1 a sensation caused in the ear by the vibration of the surrounding air or other medium.
2 a vibrations causing this sensation. b similar vibrations whether audible or not.
3 what is or may be heard.
4 an idea or impression conveyed by words (don't like the sound of that).
5 mere words (sound and fury).
6 (in full musical sound) sound produced by continuous and regular vibrations (opp. NOISE n. 3).
7 any of a series of articulate utterances (vowel and consonant sounds).
8 music, speech, etc., accompanying a film or other visual presentation.
9 (often attrib.) broadcasting by radio as distinct from television.
—v.
1 intr. & tr. emit or cause to emit sound.
2 tr. utter or pronounce (sound a note of alarm).
3 intr. convey an impression when heard (you sound worried).
4 tr. give an audible signal for (an alarm etc.).
5 tr. test (the lungs etc.) by noting the sound produced.
6 tr. cause to resound; make known (sound their praises).
Phrases and idioms:
sound barrier the high resistance of air to objects moving at speeds near that of sound. sound effect a sound other than speech or music made artificially for use in a play, film, etc. sound engineer an engineer dealing with acoustics etc. sound-hole an aperture in the belly of some stringed instruments. sound off talk loudly or express one's opinions forcefully. sound-post a small prop between the belly and back of some stringed instruments. sound shift see SHIFT n. 6. sound spectrograph an instrument for analysing sound into its frequency components. sound wave a wave of compression and rarefaction, by which sound is propagated in an elastic medium, e.g. air.
Derivatives:
soundless adj. soundlessly adv. soundlessness n.
Etymology: ME f. AF soun, OF son (n.), AF suner, OF soner (v.) f. L sonus
2.
adj. & adv.
—adj.
1 healthy; not diseased or injured.
2 (of an opinion or policy etc.) correct, orthodox, well-founded, judicious.
3 financially secure (a sound investment).
4 undisturbed (a sound sleeper).
5 severe, hard (a sound blow).
—adv. soundly (sound asleep).
Derivatives:
soundly adv. soundness n.
Etymology: ME sund, isund f. OE gesund f. WG
3.
v. & n.
—v.tr. & intr.
1 tr. test the depth or quality of the bottom of (the sea or a river etc.).
2 tr. (often foll. by out) inquire (esp. cautiously or discreetly) into the opinions or feelings of (a person).
3 tr. find the depth of water in (a ship's hold).
4 tr. get records of temperature, humidity, pressure, etc. from (the upper atmosphere).
5 tr. examine (a person's bladder etc.) with a probe.
6 intr. (of a whale or fish) dive to the bottom.
—n. a surgeon's probe.
Derivatives:
sounder n.
Etymology: ME f. OF sonder ult. f. L SUB- + unda wave
4.
n.
1 a a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or a sea with a lake etc. b an arm of the sea.
2 a fish's swim-bladder.
Etymology: OE sund, = ON sund swimming, strait, f. Gmc (as SWIM)