Talk:sounding
Etymology 2 seems suspect to me[edit]
measuring the depth of water with a weighted rope is called sounding, and certain related bodies of water are called sounds, but that doesn't have anything to do with an audible sound. But etymology 2 prominently features audible sound, and otherwise is void of PIE or old norse, references, etc. It's easy to imagine that the "soundness" of a wooden barrel or chest or the hull of a boat might entail the resonant quality to make an auditory reference, but are we sure that the nautical usages are related?
There is a strait between Denmark and Sweden called Øresund, and it's translated to English as "The Sound". That etymology goes back to Old Norse sund (“swimming, sound”), from Proto-Germanic *sundą, derived from the verb Proto-Germanic *swimmaną (“to swim”). This seems like a much better etymology 2603:8001:D3F0:87E0:0:0:0:1DF6 01:09, 23 December 2023 (UTC)