acoustic English · revision 10652

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1605|origins=fr acoustique|origins=grc ἀκουστικός}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əˈkuː.stɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|acoustique]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from Greek [[m|grc|ἀκουστικός|tr=akoustikós|t=of hearing]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from akoustós, heard, audible, from akoúein, to hear,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) which Etymonline traces to the presumed root of [[hear]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Pertaining to the sense of hearing: 1605, in Francis Bacon's Advancement of Learning.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Etymonline gives about 1600.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a noun, a medicine or device to help hearing was an acoustic from 1704.^(OED 1989) ''Acoustics'', the science of sound, is from 1683, formed on the analogy of mathematics.^(Barnhart 1988) Of material that deadens sound, acoustic is from 1924.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Of a gramophone, reproducing sound mechanically rather than electrically, it is from 1932,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the ''acoustic guitar'', as opposed to an electric one, is attested by 1958.^(Etymonline) The acoustic of a room, its sound qualities, is from 1961.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1605 – pertaining to hearing.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1683 – acoustics.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1924 – sound-deadening.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1932 – non-electric (of a gramophone).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1958 – acoustic guitar.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to [[sound]] or the sense of [[hearing]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Designed to absorb or control sound: ''acoustic tiles''.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+ # Of a musical instrument or performance, without electric amplification: ''an acoustic guitar''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An acoustic instrument.^(AHD)

+ # The sound qualities of a room or building.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[acoustically]]

+ * [[unacoustic]]

+ * [[acoustician]]

+ * [[electroacoustic]]

+ * [[nonacoustic]]

+ * [[acoustics]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hear]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}