soundingn.1
/ˈsaʊndɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈsaʊndɪŋ/ 1.
a. The fact of emitting or giving out a sound or sounds, or the power of doing this; the sound produced or given out by something, esp. a bell or trumpet.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > thing heard > [noun] > sound > fact, faculty, or quality of sounding
sounding1398
sonancea1616
sonation1656
α.
β. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 466/1 Soundynge, sonatus.a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 69 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 301 Ne suppe not with grete sowndynge.1483 Cath. Angl. 350/1 A Sowndynge, sonoritas.1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 273/1 Soundyng, sonnerie.c1595 Capt. Wyatt in G. F. Warner Voy. R. Dudley to W. Indies (1899) 46 The cause that made thease people flie from us..was the soundinge of our trumpetts.1660 J. Playford Brief Introd. Skill Musick (ed. 3) 72 A beginner..shall by this way use only one Sounding, viz., an Unison.a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1645 (1955) II. 467 The fillings up..'twixt the Walls were of urnes & earthen potts for the better sounding.1706 A. Bedford Temple Musick ix. 196 The Trumpets sounded their Soundings.1799 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry (ed. 3) 373 These soundings are exactly the same as those of the trumpet.1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel II. 104 The rustic's ear at leisure dwells On the soft soundings of his village bells.1882 C. Rossetti Poems (1904) 262/2 The irresponsive sounding of the sea.figurative.a1711 T. Ken Christophil in Wks. (1721) I. 504 For thou Omniscient art, To know the Wants and Soundings of my Heart.1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) (1495) xvi. xxxvi Bras accordeþ moste to trumpes and taboures for sownynge and longe duringe þerof.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Exod. xix. 16 The sownyng of a clarioun made noise ful greetli.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail lv. l. 292 That was the Noyse Of here Sownenge.
1482 Monk of Evesham lvii. 110 As al the bellys yn the worlde or what sumeuer ys of sownyng had be rongyn to gedyr at onys.
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xxii. f. 41v Harpes, lutes, organes softe in sownynge.
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. Bb.i A blast so hye, That made an eckow in the ayer and sowning through the sky.
b. With adverbs, as again, on.
ΚΠ
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 466/2 Soundynge a-ȝene (or rebowndynge), resonatus, reboacio.
1560 Bible (Geneva) Ezek. vii. 7 The sounding againe of the mountaines.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 172 The braying or sounding againe of the Asse.
1852 tr. J. J. Seidel Organ & its Constr. 45 The so-called howling or sounding-on of certain pipes when their respective keys are not pressed down.
2.
a. Vocal utterance or pronunciation; resonant or sonorous quality of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > [noun] > utterance of vocal sound
soundinga1387
utterancec1456
prelationa1525
elocution1623
vocification?1632
articulation1677
voicing1822
vocalization1828
voicing1831
phonation1842
phonesis1856
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 163 For men of þe est wiþ men of þe west..acordeþ more in sownynge of speche.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) v. xxi. 128 It faryth in children that they spylle and hurte many letters and maye not haue sownyng.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xiv. 152 The Langage of that Contree is more gret in sownynge, than it is in other parties beȝonde the See.
1599 R. Percyvall & J. Minsheu Spanish Gram. 6 G..hath two maner of soundings according to the vowels which follow it.
b. Black English. Playing the dozens (play v. 13i).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > other specific games > [noun] > others
sitisota1400
papsea1450
half-bowl1477
pluck at the crow1523
white and black1555
running game1581
blow-pointa1586
hot cocklesa1586
one penny1585
cockelty bread1595
pouch1600
venter-point1600
hinch-pinch1603
hardhead1606
poor and rich1621
rowland-hoe1622
hubbub1634
handicap?a1653
owl1653
ostomachy1656
prelledsa1660
quarter-spellsa1660
yert-point1659
bob-her1702
score1710
parson has lost his cloak1712
drop (also throw) (the) handkerchief1754
French Fox1759
goal1765
warpling o' the green1768
start1788
kiss-in-the-ring1801
steal-clothes1809
steal-coat1816
petits paquets1821
bocce1828
graces1831
Jack-in-the-box1836
hot hand1849
sparrow-mumbling1852
Aunt Sally1858
gossip1880
Tambaroora1882
spoof1884
fishpond1892
nim1901
diabolo1906
Kim's game1908
beaver1910
treasure-hunt1913
roll-down1915
rock scissors paper1927
scissors cut paper1927
scissors game1927
the dozens1928
toad in the hole1930
game1932
scissors paper stone1932
Roshambo1936
Marco Polo1938
scavenger hunt1940
skish1940
rock paper scissors1947
to play chicken1949
sounding1962
joning1970
arcade game1978
1962 R. D. Abrahams in Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 75 209 The dozens are commonly called ‘playing’ or ‘sounding’.
1965 R. D. Abrahams in Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 78 343 Sounding, especially Mother-Sounding, demonstrates the second place given to the mother-son bond in comparison to the primary place assigned the clique.
1972 W. Labov Lang. in Inner City p. xviii The setting was essentially that of a party..with card games, eating and drinking, singing and sounding.
1974 H. L. Foster Ribbin', Jivin', & Playin' Dozens v. 183 In Pottsville, Pennsylvania, the term is sounding... In a Brooklyn, New York, secondary school the terms ranking and sounding are still used.
3. The (or an) act of causing a trumpet, bell, etc., to sound; the blowing of a bugle or trumpet, esp. as a signal.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > [noun]
glewinga1300
playc1325
sounding1523
playing1535
instrumentation1818
society > communication > indication > signalling > audible signalling > signalling with other sounding instruments > [noun] > signalling on bugle or trumpet
sounding1523
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. xviii. 8 b Euery man was warned to be redy at the fyrst soundyng of the trumpette.
1529 in C. Innes Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis (1845) I. 396 Be conuocatioun of our said communitie be þe swndyng of þe bell usit in þis part.
1616 B. Jonson Poëtaster (rev. ed.) Induct., in Wks. I. 275 After the second sounding.
1811 Gen. Regulations & Orders Army 281 Whether perfect in the different Soundings of the Trumpet, and in the Beats of the Drum.
1879 Scribner's Monthly 19 518/2 Only at the sounding of the second bell did Louisiana escape..to prepare for dinner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sounds heard in body > [noun] > ringing, etc., in the ears
ringinga1398
tinklinga1398
sibilusc1400
sounding1600
singing1605
bombus1753
tympanophony1899
zinging1921
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique i. xii. 61 Against the noise and sounding of the eare.
5. The action of examining by percussion; spec. auscultation; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > examination > [noun] > auscultation
auscultation1833
sounding1883
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [noun] > other specific mining processes > in coal-mining
outstroke1747
holing1841
coal-cutting1842
patio1845
sumping1849
bottoming1856
salting1856
patio process1862
spragging1865
yardage1877
booming1880
brushing1883
filling1883
sounding1883
yard-work1883
blanketing1884
goafing1888
freezing process1889
power loading1901
bashing1905
rock dusting1915
mucking1918
solid stowing1929
stone-dusting1930
roof bolting1949
rock bolting1955
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 230 Sounding, knocking on the roof, etc., to ascertain if it is sound or safe to work under.
1898 New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon Sounding, the operation of examining the chest; auscultation.
1900 E. Wallace Writ in Barracks 72 Didn't mind the Doctor's soundin's.
Compounds
C1. sounding-bar, sounding-machine, sounding-rod, sounding-string.
ΚΠ
1847 R. B. Todd & W. Bowman Physiol. Anat. II. 97 Müller..could by means of a sounding-rod..ascertain the relative intensity of the sonorous vibrations.
1853 J. F. W. Herschel Pop. Lect. Sci. (1873) vii. §58. 275 The vibrations which reach the ear from a sounding-string.
1881 W. E. Dickson Pract. Organ-building v. 64 A long screw..biting well in one of the sounding-bars.
C2.
sounding bow n. = sound-bow n. at sound n.3 Compounds 2a.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > bell > [noun] > other parts
yokeOE
stirrup1341
cod1379
bell-string1464
frame1474
stock1474
ear1484
poop1507
bell-wheel1529
skirt1555
guarder1583
imp1595
tab1607
jennet1615
pluck1637
bell-rope1638
cagea1640
cannon1668
stilt1672
canon1688
crown1688
sound-bow1688
belfry1753
furniture1756
sounding bow1756
earlet1833
brima1849
busk-board1851
headstock1851
sally hole1851
slider1871
mushroom head1872
sally beam1872
pit1874
tolling-lever1874
sally-pin1879
sally-pulley1901
sally-wheel1901
1756 Dict. Arts & Sci. at Bell The parts of a Bell are (1) The sounding bow, or the inferior circle, which terminates it, growing thinner and thinner.
sounding-box n. = sound-box n. at sound n.3 Compounds 2a
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > lute- or viol-type parts > [noun] > hollow part
sounding-box1875
sound-body1876
sound-box1876
1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth of Lang. iv. 59 Above the vibrating reed-apparatus is set, after the fashion of a sounding-box, the cavity of the pharynx.
sounding-post n. = sound-post n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > lute- or viol-type parts > [noun] > other parts
rib1578
rose1597
sound-hole1611
sound-post1688
purfle1706
bass-bar1833
purfling1833
sounding-post1838
corner1888
bout1889
1838 Penny Mag. 30 June 246/2 This peg is called the sounding post..of the violin.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
soundingn.2
/ˈsaʊndɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈsaʊndɪŋ/ 1. in extended use.1891 A. M. Clerke in Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Instit. 106 M. Celoria..obtained for a ‘mean sounding’, at the north pole of the milky way, almost identically the same number [of stars] given by Herschel's great reflector.
a. The action or process of sounding or ascertaining the depth of water by means of the line and lead or (now usually) by means of echo; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > other nautical operations > [noun] > sounding depth
sounding1336
echo-sounding1923
1336 [implied in: Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer 19/31 m. 4 In .j. petra cordis de canabo..pro vno soundynglyne inde faciendo. (at sounding-line n.)].
1337–9 in B. Sandahl Middle Eng. Sea Terms (1982) III. 119 De ij.s.iij.d. pro cordis emptis..per vices Anglice Lyne pro soundings et toppeline pro eadem.
1485 [implied in: 1485 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 51 Leede lynes, j; Sounding leeds, j. (at sounding-lead n.)].
1631 G. Markham Countrey Contentm. (ed. 4) i. xi. 76 That in the sounding of Lakes or Riuers, he may know how many foot or inches each..contayneth.
1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. ii. ii. 50 Taking your Sounding from Beef-Island shore.
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. (at cited word) When the Seamen try the Depth of the Water with a Line and Plummet, they call it Sounding.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine (at cited word) Sounding with the hand-lead..is generally performed by a man who stands in the main-chains to windward.
1860 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea (ed. 8) 4 Nor have any reliable soundings yet been made in water over five miles deep.
1880 19th Cent. No. 38. 594 At each of the observing stations a sounding was taken for the determination of the exact depth.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) XIII. 216/1 Since about the middle of the 1920s, virtually all deep-sea soundings have been made by echo sounding.
b. figurative. Investigation. Also with out. to take soundings, to try to find out quietly how matters stand.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > [noun]
inspection1390
search1415
probationc1422
ensearchingc1430
surview1432
enserchise1436
overseeingc1449
sight1452
hearkeninga1483
discuting1483
ensearcha1509
inquiry1512
upsightc1515
perusing1556
perpending1558
overlooking1565
interview1567
trial1575
peruse1578
visitation1583
perspective?a1586
overviewing1590
looking over1599
sounding1599
perusal1604
supervise1604
disquisition1605
expiscation1605
prospect1625
ravellinga1626
disquiry1628
disquisitive1660
perpendment1667
inspecting1788
sleuthing1900
casing1928
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > interrogation > extract information [verb (intransitive)] > by sounding out
to feel (also take, taste, try) the pulse (also pulses) ofa1400
fish1570
to take soundings1856
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > interrogation > [noun] > sounding out
sound1584
fishing expedition1961
sounding1969
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. i. 147 To himselfe so secret and so close, So farre from sounding and discouerie, As is the bud bit with an enuious worme. View more context for this quotation
1856 C. J. Lever Martins of Cro' Martin 217 Old Dan bears you no malice, I'd lay fifty pounds on it! But, if you like, I'll just step in and take soundings.
1898 Westm. Gaz. 9 Nov. 4/1 The Liverymen afterwards decide the selection. Soundings may have been taken beforehand.
1969 Daily Tel. 11 Nov. 21/4 The secret sounding-out by Plessey and BSR was an effort to clear the hurdle before breathing a word, but a share jump precipitated events.
c. transferred. The determination of any physical property at a depth in the sea or at a height in the atmosphere; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > [noun] > of physical property
sounding1875
1875 Proc. Royal Soc. 1874–5 23 249 Temperature-soundings were taken on the 28th of September and on the 3rd of October, at depths of 2800 and 1420 fathoms respectively.
1947 Sci. Progress XXXV. 88 These soundings have also shown exceedingly dry layers..to exist from time to time in the troposphere.
1955 E. Burgess Frontier to Space iii. 24 The use of the rocket for altitude sounding is by no means a new idea.
1974 Physics Bull. Jan. 11/3 Further instrumental developments are bound to follow and it may be that balloon and rocket soundings of the atmosphere will soon become obsolete.
d. Archaeology. A trial boring made on a site to gain preliminary information. Cf. sondage n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > history or knowledge about the past > [noun] > archaeology > archaeological expedition or excavation > tests
bosing1953
sounding1957
1957 K. M. Kenyon Digging up Jericho 170 Our excavation at the highest point on the central ridge..was only a restricted sounding.
1967 Amer. Anthropologist 69 401/2 At Chagar Bazar, Huwaish (at which only a seven-day sounding was carried out), and in the rest of Mesopotamia ‘religious responsibilities rested with the local secular chiefs’.
2. A place or position at sea where it is possible to reach the bottom with the ordinary deep-sea lead (see quot. 1867 at sense 2a). Chiefly plural.
a. In prepositional phrases, as in or into, off (the) soundings.The form sowdyng of the earliest examples also occurs in 1495 under sounding-lead n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > sea or ocean > region of sea or ocean > [noun] > depth of water > place where soundings can be taken
sounding14..
soundings1570
singular.
plural.1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 18 A shallow water, deepe water, soundings, fadome by the marke.1694 Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. 18 The Sea-Water is changed whiter than the usual colour, whence I conjecture, I must be in Soundings.1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson iii. vi. 347 We..frequently brought to, to try if we were in soundings.1790 R. Beatson Naval & Mil. Mem. I. 174 At this time a French squadron was cruizing in the soundings.1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xxii. 160 We were soon out of soundings, and well into the Bay of Biscay.1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. (at cited word) To be in soundings..is limited in common parlance to parts not far from the shore, and where the depth is about 80 or 100 fathoms.14.. in J. Gairdner Sailing Direct. (1889) 21 And ye gesse you ij. parties ovir the see..ye must north and by est till ye come into Sowdyng.
14.. in J. Gairdner Sailing Direct. (1889) 21 Than go north till ye come into sowdyng of woyse [= ooze].
b. In other uses. to strike soundings (see quot. 1863).
ΚΠ
1701 W. Penn in Mem. Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania (1870) IX. 69 We were but twenty-six days from land to soundings.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson i. vi. 59 We had soundings which continued all along the coast of Patagonia.
1802 Schomberg Naval Chronol. 1 132 He..sailed with the rest for England. On the 23d of October the admiral struck soundings in 90 fathoms.
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xxvi. 181 A large homeward-bound Indiaman, which had just struck soundings.
1863 A. Young Naut. Dict. (ed. 2) 359 To strike soundings, is to find bottom with the deep-sea-lead on coming in from sea. A vessel is then in soundings.
c. spec. with the. Such places in the mouth of the English Channel. ? Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1666 London Gaz. No. 39/1 A little off the Soundings she met with ill weather.
1693 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) III. 51 Alymer, after seen the Streights fleet past the soundings, goes on some other design.
1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 225 We had tollerable Weather..till we came into the Soundings, so they call the Mouth of the British Channel.
1897 Laughton in Dict. National Biogr. LII. 160/2 On 22 Oct. the fleet came into the soundings.]
d. U.S. (See quot. 1804) rare.
ΚΠ
1804 C. B. Brown tr. C. F. de Volney View Soil & Climate U.S.A. 174 On each side, it forms eddies or counter-currents, which, aided by the depositions of the rivers, forms the muddy stratum or deposit, termed soundings.
3. plural. The depths of water in the sea, esp. along the coast, in a harbour, road, etc., or (rarely) in a river, ascertained by sounding (sense 1); also, the entries in a logbook, etc., giving these, together with particulars relating to the nature of the bottom.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > sea or ocean > region of sea or ocean > [noun] > depth of water
assay1436
soundings1570
society > travel > travel by water > other nautical operations > [noun] > sounding depth > depths found by
soundings1570
the world > the earth > water > sea or ocean > region of sea or ocean > [noun] > depth of water > place where soundings can be taken
sounding14..
soundings1570
the world > the earth > water > sea or ocean > region of sea or ocean > [noun] > depth of water > place where soundings can be taken > specifically in English Channel
soundings1570
1570 J. Dee in H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. Math. Præf. sig. aiiijv The Soundinges..ought the Hydrographer..to haue certainly knowen.
c1595 Capt. Wyatt in G. F. Warner Voy. R. Dudley to W. Indies (1899) 38 I must confess that the Captaine did not make anie publike declaracion how hee founde the sowndings.
1661 E. Hickeringill (title) Jamaica Viewed, with all the Ports, Harbours, and their several Soundings.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. viii. 216 A plan of the road..where the soundings are laid down.
1774 M. Mackenzie Treat. Maritim Surv. 79 The Survey of the Coast..and the Soundings near it.
1841 B. Hall Patchwork II. i. 4 The leadsman..singing out the soundings to the anxious pilot.
1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey II. 341 From the state of the soundings at the present day,..the river in Strabo's time must have entered the sea [etc.].
4. Surgery. The action of examining with a sound or probe. Also attributive, as †sounding-iron.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > examination > [noun] > by physical means > with a probe
probation?a1425
sounding1598
1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. 13/1 The soundinge Iron..is verye conveniente to sound and serche for bullettes in a wounde.
1695 W. W. Novum Lumen Chirurgicum Extinctum 36 He will not allow Sounding by Probe.
1809 S. Cooper Dict. Pract. Surg. 568 Sounding, the operation of introducing the foregoing instrument [sc. sound].
Compounds
C1. attributive, chiefly in sense 1, as sounding-machine, sounding-plumb, sounding-plummet, sounding-pole, sounding-rod, sounding-ship, sounding-twine.Also sounding-apparatus, sounding-bottle, etc. (1875– in E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. and later dictionaries).
ΚΠ
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. vi. f. 121 He coulde at no tyme touche the grounde with his soundynge plummet.
1575 G. Gascoigne Posies in Wks. (1907) I. 355 (The sounding plumbe) in haste poste hast must raunge, To trye the depth and goodnesse of our gate.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Sonde, a Mariners sounding plummet.
1776 G. Semple Treat. Building in Water 18 A sounding Rod..marked out in Feet and Inches painted.
1832 Darwin in Life & Lett. (1887) I. 232 It is quite a new thing for a ‘sounding ship’ to beat a regular man-of-war.
1838 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 1 148/2 A sounding-rod of iron..was dropped into it, which rebounding several feet, proved that the solid rock had been reached.
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 289 Massey's Patent Sounding-Machine is an instrument which ascertains the depth of water, and registers it by means of an index.
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 289 Sounding rod, a slight bar of iron marked with a scale of feet and inches, used to ascertain the depth of water that may happen to be in a vessel's hold.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. vi. 71 A five-sinnet line of Maury's sounding-twine.
1875 ‘M. Twain’ in Atlantic Monthly May 569/1 You can go and get the sounding-pole.
1894 Times 18 Sept. 10/4 Sir William Thomson's sounding machine was on the vessel aft, but witness used the deep sea lead.
1975 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 23 Feb. 13/2 Tying themselves together like mountain climbers, sounding poles in hand, they forded the river.
C2.
sounding balloon n. = ballon-sonde n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > study or science of weather > meteorological instruments > [noun] > carrier for or with instruments > balloon
ballon-sonde1898
sounding balloon1937
weather balloon1940
rawinsonde1946
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXX. 708/2 As these ascensions are made with great velocity, and therefore as nearly vertical as possible, they are called ‘soundings’, because of their analogy to the mariner's usage at sea, and the balloon is called a ‘sounding balloon’.]
1937 C. G. Philp Stratosphere & Rocket Flight v. 33 By the aid of ‘sounding’ balloons..data has been obtained of the earth's atmosphere at a height of over 23 miles.
1965 R. A. Craig Upper Atmosphere ii. 17 Sounding balloons are most commonly made of neoprene and inflated with helium or hydrogen.
sounding rocket n. a rocket designed to carry scientific instruments into the upper atmosphere in order to make measurements during its flight.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > rocket > [noun] > for taking scientific measurements
rocketsonde1946
sounding rocket1947
probe1953
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > study or science of weather > meteorological instruments > [noun] > carrier for or with instruments > rocket
rocketsonde1946
sounding rocket1947
1947 Amer. Jrnl. Physics 15 139/1 (caption) The WAC Corporal sounding rocket, which reached 43 mi altitude.
1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics iv. 121 Data obtained from the sounding rockets were correlated with readings from the Explorer 4 artificial satellite.
1978 J. M. Pasachoff & M. L. Kutner University Astron. xxviii. 710 (caption) The ultraviolet spectrum of 3C 273, taken with a 40-cm telescope, the largest ever flown on a sounding rocket.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† soundingn.3
Obsolete.
1. Swooning, fainting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > physical insensibility > unconsciousness > [noun] > fainting or swooning
swimeOE
swowingc1000
swooningc1290
swoonc1330
soundingc1380
swelteringc1440
sweltingc1460
swalming1487
swounding1570
syncopization1598
fainting1601
lipothymy1603
defection1615
dereliction1647
swebbing1668
swound1880
greyout1942
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 1134 Wan þe Amyral haþ iherd þe kyng in sowenyng gan he falle; Ac wan he awok of his soȝnyng loude he gan to calle.
a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) l. 1400 Thries in sownyng fell she thare.
1547 A. Borde Breuiary of Helthe i. f. lxxxvii There be many soden sicknesses, as the pestylence,..the palsey, and soundynge.
1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke ii. xiv. 75 If sounding be caused through pain, you must diligentlie enquire the cause.
1620 T. Venner Via Recta vi. 107 A water of singular efficacie against sowning.
2. A swoon; a fainting-fit.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > physical insensibility > unconsciousness > [noun] > fainting or swooning > a faint or swoon
swimeOE
swooningc1290
swowa1325
swooningc1330
swoon1390
soundc1400
trancec1405
sweamc1415
swoundc1440
sweltingc1460
swarf1488
dwalm?a1513
sounding ecstasy?1565
sounding1580
pasme1591
death1596
lipothymy1603
deliquium1620
delique1645
fainting fit1714
drow1727
faint-fit1795
faint1808
blacking out1930
blackout1934
greyout1942
pass-out1946
1580 J. Frampton tr. N. Monardes Bk. Medicines agaynst Venome in Ioyfull Newes (new ed.) f. 119v The bone of the hart..is of great vertue against venom and soundings of the harte.
1595 T. Lodge Fig for Momus G 4 It causeth sownings, passions of the hart.
a1657 J. Balfour Hist. Wks. (1824) II. 104 Falling into maney soundinges and paines, and violent fluxes of the belley.
c1670 A. Wood Life (1891) I. 388 Yet he could hardly keep himself from a second sowning.
3. attributive, as sounding ecstasy, sounding fit, sounding trance.Frequently in the 17th century.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > physical insensibility > unconsciousness > [noun] > fainting or swooning > a faint or swoon
swimeOE
swooningc1290
swowa1325
swooningc1330
swoon1390
soundc1400
trancec1405
sweamc1415
swoundc1440
sweltingc1460
swarf1488
dwalm?a1513
sounding ecstasy?1565
sounding1580
pasme1591
death1596
lipothymy1603
deliquium1620
delique1645
fainting fit1714
drow1727
faint-fit1795
faint1808
blacking out1930
blackout1934
greyout1942
pass-out1946
?1565 Lady Hungerford in H. Hall Society in Elizabethan Age (1886) 253 Your man..founde me in suche sounding fitts and wekenys.
1582 T. Watson Ἑκατομπαθία: Passionate Cent. Loue xi Sone after into howe sorrowfull a dumpe, or sounden [sic] extasie he fell.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 467 I fell twice in a sounding trance.
1681 H. More Plain Expos. Daniel 78 A sounding fit that took him at the hearing the voice of the Angel.
1720 D. Manley Power of Love i. 49 An immediate Suffocation..might be improved into an appearance of sounding Fits.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
soundingadj.1
/ˈsaʊndɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈsaʊndɪŋ/ 1. † c. Having a sound similar to something. Obsolete. rare.
a. Having a sound; causing, emitting, producing, a sound or sounds, esp. of a loud character; resonant, sonorous; reverberant.Frequently in 18th cent. poetry.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > thing heard > [adjective] > sounding
soundingc1374
sweyinga1400
unquiet1539
sonorific1683
sonoriferous1693
soniferous1710
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > [adjective]
loudc897
shillOE
brightOE
shillinga1225
soundingc1374
ringingc1400
sonore?c1400
resoundingc1425
sonousc1429
resoundable?c1500
soundish1530
high-sounding1560
singing1565
resonant1572
trolling1581
rumbelow1582
sonorous1611
canorous1646
remugient1660
retentive1728
fullish1770
pealing1794
resonating1845
plangent1858
resonatory1880
timbrous1929
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > [adjective] > sounding
soundingc1374
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1868) i. pr. ii. 8 Þe causes whennes þe sounyng wyndes moeuen and bisien þe smoþe water of þe see.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 883 Þat nwe songe þay songen ful cler, In sounande notez a gentyl carpe.
1483 Cath. Angl. 350/1 Sowndynge, argutus, sonorus.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Cor. xiii. 1 I were even as soundynge brasse.
1560 Bible (Geneva) 2 Chron. xiii. 12 And beholde, this God is with vs,..& his Priests with the sounding trumpets.
1594 C. Marlowe & T. Nashe Dido i. 1 Both barking Scilla, and the sounding Rocks.
a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. i. iii, in Wks. (1640) III When it [sc. the letter v] leadeth a sounding Vowell.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals v, in tr. Virgil Wks. 24 Murm'ring Billows on the sounding Shore.
1723 J. Clarke tr. Rohault's Syst. Nat. Philos. I. i. ii. 7 Mankind..are apt to think, that the Sound..is in the Air, or in the sounding Body as they call it.
1798 W. Wordsworth Lines Tintern Abbey in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 206 The sounding cataract Haunted me like a passion.
1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. I. 319 As the sounding horn foretels the coming mail.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island v. xxvii. 220 He went in with a sounding plunge.
b. Preceded by an adjective or adverb, as clear, deep, loud sounding, etc.
ΚΠ
c1325 Prose Ps. cl. 5 Herieþ hym in cymbals wele sounand.
1486 Bk. St. Albans d iij Looke also that thay be sonowre and well sowndyng and shil.
?a1535 To City of London (Vitellius) in J. Small Poems W. Dunbar (1893) II. 277 Blith be thy churches, wele sownyng be thy bellis.
1560 Bible (Geneva) Psalms cl. 5 Praise ye him with high sounding cymbals.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iii. xv. 99 b Cimbals of..cleare sounding mettall.
1592 Arden of Feversham iii. iii. 16 With that he blew an euill sounding horne.
1606 W. Smith Black-smith 33 With the loude sounding trumpet to rouze and araise them.
1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. liii He was forc'd to crowd his Verse with ill sounding Monosyllables.
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 169 Beneath well-sounding Greek I slur a name a poet must not speak.
1801 Lusignan IV. 28 The shores of the deep sounding main.
1845 R. Ford Hand-bk. Travellers in Spain I. i. 35 The names of the animals are always fine-sounding.
1882 E. A. Floyer Unexplored Baluchistan 75 The Divine formulas of Islam are merely fine hearty-sounding words to swear in.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > thing heard > [adjective] > sounding > sounding like
sounding1563
1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments 559/1 The booke..is nother English, Laten, Greke, nor Hebrue, nor Douche, but somewhat soundinge to oure English.
d. sounding sand n. = singing sand n. at singing adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > stony material > [noun] > sand > types of
sea-sandc1220
black sand1536
gold sand1578
quicksand1641
iron sand1681
crag1735
Bude sand1808
musical sand1858
sounding sand1884
singing sand1897
squeaking sand1966
1884 Proc. 32nd Meeting Amer. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 251 The sounding sand is near the surface only, at the depth of one or two feet the acoustic properties disappear.
1897 G. P. Merrill Treat. Rocks ii. ii. 143 On certain Hawaiian beaches, such sands [sc. shell sands] give out a distinct note..when walked over, or even when shaken in a closed vessel, and are popularly known as sounding, or singing, sands.
1976 Nature 5 Feb. 368/2 Hardly surprisingly in view of their weird effects, sounding sands are incorporated into folklore and legends going back at least 1,500 years.
2.
a. Of language, names, titles, etc.: Having a full, rich, or imposing sound; high-sounding, pompous, bombastic, etc. Also transferred of writers.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > ornateness > [adjective] > lofty or grandiloquent
magnificenta1460
statelya1525
magnifical1533
tragical1533
lofty1565
tragic1566
sublime1586
over-high1587
magnific1589
heroic1590
buskina1593
grandiloquous1593
full-mouthed1594
high-pitched1594
buskined1595
full-mouth1595
high-borne1596
altisonant1612
Roman1619
high-sounding1624
transcendent1631
magniloquent1640
loud1651
altiloquent1656
grandiloquent1656
largiloquent1656
altisonous1661
tall1670
elevate1673
grandisonous1674
sounding1683
exalted1684
grandisonant1684
grandific1727
magniloquous1727
orotund1799
superb1825
spread eagle1839
grandiose1840
magnisonanta1843
togated1868
elevated1875
mandarin1959
1683 W. Soames tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Art of Poetry i. 11 Keep to your Subject close, in all you say; Nor for a sounding Sentence ever stray.
1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. liii We make our Authour at least appear in a Poetique Dress. We have actually made him more Sounding, and more Elegant, than he was before in English.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 26. ¶1 Several Persons mentioned in the Battles of Heroic Poems, who have sounding Names given them.
1775 S. Johnson Taxation no Tyranny 11 Before they quit the comforts of a warm home for the sounding some~thing which they think better.
1805 N. Nicholls in Corr. Gray & Nicholls (1843) 36 Milton, who, he said, in parts of his poem, rolls on in sounding words that have but little meaning.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xix. 321 There was a society..which assumed the sounding name of the Royal Academies Company.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lxxii. 594 The orator has been apt to evade them or to deal in sounding commonplaces.
b. Of persons: Loudly demonstrative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > affected behaviour or affectation > [adjective] > theatrical or exaggerated (of person) > loudly demonstrative
sounding1828
1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham III. ix. 134 The disinterested kindness and delicacy..contrasted so deeply with the hollowness of friends more sounding, alike in their profession and their creeds.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† soundingadj.2
Obsolete. rare.
That swoons; swooning.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > physical insensibility > unconsciousness > [adjective] > fainting or in a swoon
swownc1000
deadc1369
swoonc1450
swounding1570
deficient1608
tranced1608
sounding1621
swooning1646
fainted1847
to go out like a light1909
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy ii. iii. iii. 400 For all their Physitians and medicines inforcing Nature, a souning wife, families complaints, friends teares,..he..goes to hell with a guilty conscience.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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n.1a1387n.21336
n.3c1380adj.1c1325adj.21621