Etymologically
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echo

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɛk.əʊ/ (UK); /ˈɛk.oʊ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English ecko, eccho, borrowed from Old French echo and Latin ēchō,[2][3][4] from Greek ἠχώ (ēkhṓ, “echo”),[2][5] from or related to ἠχή (ēkhḗ, “sound”) and ēkheîn, to resound,[5][3] from PIE *(s)wāgh-, to resound, source also of Latin vāgīre, to cry, and Old English swōgan, to resound.[5][2][4] In Greek mythology Echo was a mountain nymph who pined for love of Narcissus until only her voice remained.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A sound repeated by reflection: 1340, in the Ayenbite of Inwit.[2][7][5]

Semantic evolution

The modern spelling echo was introduced in the 17th century in imitation of Latin.[2] The verb is from before 1559 (the 1550s, intransitive), and transitive from about 1600.[2][5] The personified Echo is from 1592,[7] to applaud to the echo from 1605,[7] and a verse device repeating the end of the previous line from 1633.[7] A radio echo is from 1928,[7] and a radar echo from 1944.[7] Echoic was proposed in 1880 by James Murray, first editor of the OED, for words imitating sounds.[2][3]

Timeline

  • 1340 – a reflected sound.[2]
  • before 1559 – to echo (verb).[2]
  • 1592 – Echo personified.[7]
  • 1633 – echo verse.[7]
  • 1880 – echoic.[2]
  • 1928 – a radio echo.[7]
  • 1944 – a radar echo.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A sound repeated by reflection from a surface, or the reflected sound.
  2. A repetition or imitation, as of opinions.
  3. A reminder or trace of something past.
  4. A reflected radio or radar wave.

Verb

  1. To repeat a sound by reflection; to reverberate.
  2. To repeat or imitate the words or opinions of another.

Word family

  • echoer
  • echoey
  • echoless
  • anechoic
  • echocardiogram
  • echocardiography
  • echogenic
  • echogram
  • echoic
  • echolocation
  • catechism
  • Narcissus

Usage notes

Echo is also the communications code word for the letter E.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins