aural

Etymology

It is from Latin auris (“ear”) with the English suffix -al.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} The OED notes that a regular Latin adjective would probably have been aurīlis.^[2] Etymonline traces the Latin noun to Proto-Indo-European *ous- (“ear”), the source also of ear, through Proto-Germanic *auzon.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Received or perceived by the ear: 1773, in the Westminster Magazine.^[2][5][8]

Semantic evolution

The sense "of the organ of hearing" is recorded from 1845 in the revised OED;^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1844,^[4] and Barnhart and the 1989 edition of the OED to 1847;^[3][9] the 1989 edition and Etymonline also gave 1860 for "perceived by the ear", which the OED has since taken back to 1773.^[9][4][2] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1840–50,^[10] and most other dictionaries to the mid 19th century.^[6][11][7] In current use it covers both the ear and the sense of hearing.^[5][12]

Timeline

• 1773 – received or perceived by the ear.^[2][5]
• 1845 – of or relating to the organ of hearing.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to 1844, Barnhart to 1847.^[4][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to the ear: aural surgery.^[5][12][13]
2. Of or relating to the sense of hearing, or perceived by hearing: an aural test of the pupils' French.^[5][12][2]

Word family

• aurally
• aurality
• interaural
• monaural
• subaural
• binaural

Related words

• aura
• ear
• auricle
• auricular
• oral

Usage notes

Because aural and oral are pronounced alike in standard English, they are easily confused; a distinct pronunciation of aural, with the first syllable rhyming with cow, has been proposed but has not become standard.^[14][6][15] A separate adjective aural, "of or relating to an aura", is formed from aura and -al and is recorded from 1869.^{[2][11][10][12]}

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
11. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
14. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
15. ^ Allen, Robert, ed. (2007), The Penguin English Dictionary, 3rd ed., London: Penguin