audiovisual

Etymology

It is formed from English audio- + visual,^[2][3][4][5] and is also written with a hyphen.^[2][3][6] The first element is from Latin audiō (“to hear”), with a connective -o-;^[2][3] the OED notes that formations with it are found from the late 19th century, this word being one of the earliest.^[2] The second element is from Late Latin vīsuālis (“of sight”), from Latin vīsus (“sight”), from the past participle of videō (“to see”).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to or involving both sight and sound: 1902, in the Journal of Childhood and Adolescence.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also gives 1902,^[4] but Etymonline and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate date the word 1937,^[3][7] and Dictionary.com 1935–40.^[5]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word was used above all of teaching equipment and materials that combine pictures with sound, such as films, slides and recordings;^[2][8][6] the Historical Thesaurus files it among the means of teaching.^[9] The plural noun audio-visuals, equipment or materials of this kind, followed in 1946.^[2][6] The American Heritage Dictionary gives the abbreviation AV for the sense "conveying information through sound and pictures".^[6]

Timeline

• 1902 – relating to both sight and sound, especially of teaching materials.^[2][4]
• 1946 – noun, in the plural, audiovisual equipment or materials.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Using both sound and pictures, especially of teaching materials such as films, slides and recordings: The museum bought new audiovisual equipment for its lecture hall.^[8][4][2][6]
2. Relating to both hearing and sight: audiovisual perception of speech.^[4][6][2]

Noun

1. audiovisuals (plural): audiovisual equipment or materials.^[2][6]

Word family

• audiovisually

Related words

• audio
• audio-
• visual
• audible
• vision
• video

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)