Etymologically
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acoustic

Etymology and origin of the English word acoustic

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1605
Borrowed from
French acoustique
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (ἀκουστικός)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əˈkuː.stɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French acoustique,[2][3] from Greek ἀκουστικός (akoustikós, “of hearing”),[2][3][4] from ἀκουστός (akoustós), heard, audible, from ἀκούω (akoúō), to hear,[2][3][5] which Etymonline traces to the presumed root of hear.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pertaining to the sense of hearing: 1605, in Francis Bacon's Advancement of Learning.[2][6] Etymonline gives about 1600.[3]

Semantic evolution

As a noun, a medicine or device to help hearing was an acoustic from 1704.[6] Acoustics, the science of sound, is from 1683, formed on the analogy of mathematics.[2] Of material that deadens sound, acoustic is from 1924.[3][6] Of a gramophone, reproducing sound mechanically rather than electrically, it is from 1932,[3][6] and the acoustic guitar, as opposed to an electric one, is attested by 1958.[3] The acoustic of a room, its sound qualities, is from 1961.[6]

Timeline

  • 1605 – pertaining to hearing.[2][6]
  • 1683 – acoustics.[2]
  • 1924 – sound-deadening.[3][6]
  • 1932 – non-electric (of a gramophone).[3]
  • 1958 – acoustic guitar.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to sound or the sense of hearing.
  2. Designed to absorb or control sound: acoustic tiles.
  3. Of a musical instrument or performance, without electric amplification: an acoustic guitar.

Noun

  1. An acoustic instrument.
  2. The sound qualities of a room or building.

Word family

  • acoustically
  • unacoustic
  • acoustician
  • electroacoustic
  • nonacoustic
  • acoustics

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Acoustic.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/acoustic. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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