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assono

Etymology and origin of the Latin word assono

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Ovid
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*swenH-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sono
Latin obsono
Latin intersono
Latin insono
Latin exsono
Latin circumsono
Latin praesono
Latin assono

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈas.sɔ.noː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈas.so.no][1]

Forms

assonō (present infinitive assonāre); first conjugation, no perfect or supine stems[1] Also spelled adsonō.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin ad- (“to”) + sonō (“to sound”).[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨sonō⟩ to Proto-Italic *swena-, from Proto-Indo-European *swenH- (“to sound”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite Ovid's Metamorphoses, plangentibus assonat Ēchō “Echo answers the mourners”.[4][5] Köbler dates Ovid 43 BC–18 AD.[6]

Semantic evolution

Rare, it meant to sound in accompaniment, respond, reply, as of Echo in Ovid and Persius; transitively, in Apuleius, birds make their sweet songs resound.[2][4][5]

Its present participle is the source, through French assonant, of English assonance (1727), and English assonate and Italian assonare come from it.[7][1]

Timeline

  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of Echo.[4][6]
  • 34–62 AD – Persius uses it.[5][6]
  • 1727 – English assonance is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To sound in accompaniment, respond, echo.[2][4]
  2. (transitive) To make (songs) resound.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Assono.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/assono. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·