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sonitus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word sonitus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 235–200 BC, Naevius
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*swenH-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈsɔ.nɪ.tʊs], [ˈsɔ.nɪ.tuːs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈsɔː.ni.tus], [ˈsɔː.ni.tus][1]

Forms

sonitus m (genitive sonitūs); fourth declension[1] Caecilius and Pacuvius have a second-declension genitive sonitī.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from sonō (“to sound”) with the suffix -tus.[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨sonō⟩ (Old Latin also ⟨sonere⟩) to Proto-Italic *swena- and Proto-Indo-European *swenH- (“to sound”), with an iterative ⟨*swonh₂-eie-⟩ “to resound”; cognates are Sanskrit स्वनति (svanati, “sounds”) and Old Irish seinnid (“plays (an instrument)”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Naevius.[4] Ennius has the trumpet's terribilī sonitū: at tuba terribilī sonitū taratantara dīxit, “but the trumpet with a terrible sound said taratantara”.[3]

Semantic evolution

It is a sound of any kind, especially a loud one, a noise or din: of thunder, wind, waves, weapons and voices.[2][3] Phrases include sonitus ventris, a rumbling of the belly, and sonitus aurium, a ringing in the ears.[2] Vitruvius uses it of a musical note, translating Ancient Greek φθόγγος (phthóngos).[2]

Döderlein sets it beside fragor (a crash), strepitus (a loud noise) and crepitus (a rattle) as the general word for sound.[5] Church Latin glosses it “noise, din, sound, crash”.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius.[4][7]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius of the sound of the trumpet.[3][7]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius of a musical note.[2][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sound, especially a loud one; noise, din.[2][3][6]
  2. A musical note.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Sonitus.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/sonitus. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·