Science & TechnologyGreek → English
Acoustics
/əˈkuːstɪks/noun
The science of sound, or the way sound behaves in a particular room.
The Greek roots
ἀκουστικός
akoustikós
of hearing
Literally: “things to do with hearing”
Follow a root:ἀκουστικός2 words
The story of the word
ἀκουστικός meant nothing more than having to do with hearing, and ἀκουστά were things heard. English adopted it in the 17th century as the science of sound, at which time it kept a partner word, catacoustics, for the study of echoes. The everyday plural sense came from architects and musicians, and anyone who has sat through a concert in a bad hall knows it.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
acoustichyperacusispresbycusis
In a sentence
The acoustics in that church are so live that a whisper carries to the back.