sonorus

Forms

sonōrus (feminine sonōra, neuter sonōrum, adverb sonōrē); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin sonor (“sound, noise”) + -us.^[2][1] De Vaan lists sonor among the derivatives of sonō (“to sound”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *swena- (“to sound”) and Proto-Indo-European *suenH- (“to sound”).^[3] Cognate with Old Irish seinnid (“to play an instrument”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Virgil,^[4] whose Aeneid speaks of the winds and the loud, roaring storms.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Lewis and Short describe it as poetic and post-Augustan, used in place of the classical sonāns.^[6] It means full of sound, loud or resounding:^[2][7] Virgil also uses it of rivers,^[7][5] the Tibullan corpus of a lyre and Claudian of bronze and a bow.^[6] Apuleius uses it of ears that ring or buzz,^[2][8] Gellius of a lion's roar and, quoting Pacuvius, of Accius' high-sounding verses.^[7][2] Terentianus Maurus uses the feminine as a noun for a consonant.^[2][8] Priscian has the comparative.^[7]

British medieval writers used it for loud, for sweet or melodious, and for high-sounding diction.^[9] English sonorous was borrowed from it in the 1610s.^[10]

Timeline

• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of roaring storms.^[2][4]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of ringing ears.^[2][4]
• c. 165 AD – Gellius reports Pacuvius calling Accius' verses high-sounding.^[2][4]
• 6th century AD – Priscian uses the comparative.^[7][4]
• 1610s – Borrowed into English as sonorous.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Full of sound, loud, resounding.^[2][6]
2. (of the ears) Ringing, buzzing.^[2][8]
3. (of diction) High-sounding, sonorous.^[2][8]
4. (Medieval Latin) Sweet in sound, melodious.^[9]

Noun

1. (feminine, grammar) A consonant.^[2][8]

Word family

• dissonōrus
• sonōritās
• dulcisonōrus
• multisonorus

Related words

• sonor
• sonō
• sonus
• English sonorous

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b 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 e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com