loud English · revision 4762

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=a. 725|origins=ine-pro *ḱlutós}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /laʊd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|loud]], earlier lude, [[inh|ang|hlūd|t=noisy, sounding]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*hlūdaz|t=heard]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) also the source of Old Frisian and Old Saxon hlūd, Dutch luid and German laut.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is from [[ine-pro|*ḱlutós|alt=*klutos-|t=heard]], a suffixed form of *ḱlew- “to hear”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) which also gave Greek klytós “famous”, Latin inclutus “renowned” and cluēre “to be called”, Sanskrit śrutá- “heard”, Armenian lu “known”, Old Irish cloth “fame” and Welsh clod “praise”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Old Church Slavonic slava “glory” and slovo “word” are from the same root.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Making a lot of noise, of voices or instruments: before 725 in Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) the OED has the adjective in 971 and, of instruments, the sea and winds, about 897.^(OED 1989) The adverb, loudly, is also Old English.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of places, full of noise, is from the 1590s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Clamorous or insistent, as of complaints, is from 1530.^(OED 1989) Of smells or flavours, strong or offensive, is from 1641, now chiefly American.^(OED 1989) Of colours, clothes or manners, flashy or showy, is by 1849.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) An obsolete sense was “flagrant, palpable”, chiefly of a lie (1535).^(OED 1989) It has been paired with clear at least since about 1650.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 725 – making a lot of noise.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – clamorous.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1535 – flagrant, of a lie.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590s – of places, noisy.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1641 – of smells, strong.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1849 – of colours, flashy.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Making or being a sound of great [[volume]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # [[noisy|alt=Noisy]], insistent or emphatic: ''loud complaints''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Unpleasantly bright or showy: ''a loud tie''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Loudly: ''out loud''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[loudly]]

+ * [[loudness]]

+ * [[louden]]

+ * [[loudish]]

+ * [[loudmouthed]]

+ * [[overloud]]

+ * [[aloud]]

+ * [[loudmouth]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[listen]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Loud describes sound of great volume, often unpleasant; stentorian suggests a powerful voice, strident a harsh or grating sound, and earsplitting a sound so loud as to hurt.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}