sonorous
English
Alternative forms
- sonourous (rare)
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin sonorus, from sonor (“sound”), early 17th century.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsɒn.əɹ.əs/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈsɑːn.ɚ.əs/, /ˈsoʊ.nə.ɹəs/
Audio (US) (file)
Adjective
sonorous (comparative more sonorous, superlative most sonorous)
- Capable of giving out a deep, resonant sound.
- The highlight of the hike was the sonorous cave, which produced a ringing echo from the hiker’s shouts.
- 1837, Thomas Carlyle, “Mercury de Breze”, in Henry Duff Traill, editor, The French Revolution, a History, the Bastille[1], volume 2, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, The Third Estate, page 162:
- The Oath is redacted ; pronounced aloud by President Bailly, — and indeed in such a sonorous tone, that the cloud of witnesses, even outdoors, hear it, and bellow response to it.
- Full of sound and rich, as in language or verse.
- 1761, Joseph Addison, The Works of the Late Right Honorable Joseph Addison, Esq., Birmingham: John Baskerville for J. and R. Tonson, →OCLC, pages 32–33:
- For this reason the Italian opera seldom sinks into a poorness of language, but, amidst all the meanness and familiarity of the thoughts, has something beautiful and sonorous in the expression.
- He was selected to give the opening speech thanks to his imposing, sonorous voice.
- 1859 July 25, Edward Everett, “Rufus Choate. Tributes to the Memory of the Hon. Rufus Choate”, in The New York Times, page 2:
- There is nothing of the artificial Johnsonian balance in his style. It is as often marked by a pregnant brevity as by a sonorous amplitude.
- Wordy or grandiloquent.
- (linguistics, phonetics) Produced with a relatively open vocal tract and relatively little obstruction of airflow.
- 2001, Michael Dobrovolsky, “Phonetics: The Sounds of Language”, in William O'Grady, John Archibald, Mark Aronoff, and Janie Rees-Miller, editors, Contemporary Linguistics, →ISBN, page 21:
- Vowels are more sonorous (acoustically powerful) than consonants, and so we perceive them as louder and lasting longer.
Related terms
Translations
capable of giving out a deep resonant sound
full of sound and rich, as in language or verse
wordy or grandiloquent
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