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Origin and history of loud

loud(adj.)

Middle English, from Old English hlud "noisy; making or emitting noise" (of voices, musical instruments, etc.), from Proto-Germanic *hludaz "heard," from PIE *klutos- (source also of Sanskrit srutah, Greek klytos "heard of, celebrated," Latin inclutus "renowned, famous," Armenian lu "known," Irish cloth "noble, brave," Welsh clod "praise, fame"), suffixed form of root *kleu- "to hear."

Of places, "noisy," from 1590s. Application to colors, garments, etc. ("flashy, showy") is by 1849. Also used colloquially of notably strong or bad smells. Paired with clear (adj.) at least since c. 1650.

Germanic cognates include Old Frisian and Old Saxon hlud, Middle Dutch luut, Dutch luid, Old High German hlut, German laut "loud."

loud(adv.)

Old English hlude "loudly, noisily," from Proto-Germanic *khludai (source also of Dutch luid, German laut), from the source of loud (adj.).

Entries linking to loud

aloud(adv.)

late 13c., "with a loud voice;" c. 1300, "audibly, not whispered;" a contraction of on loude; see a- (1) + loud.

Clothilde

fem. proper name, via French, from German Klothilde, literally "famous in battle," from Old High German *klod "famous" (related to Old English hlud; see loud (adj.)) + hild "battle" (see Hilda).

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march
"to walk with measured steps or a regular tread," either individually or as a body, early 15c., from Old French marcher "to stride, march, walk," originally "to trample, tread underfoot," a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Frankish *markon or some other Germanic source rela
soft
Old English softe, earlier sefte, "gentle, mild-natured; easeful, comfortable, calm, undisturbed; luxurious," from West Germanic *samfti, from Proto-Germanic *samftijaz "level, even, smooth, gentle, soft" (source also of Old Saxon safti, Old High German semfti, German sanft; and
cheap
"low in price, that may be bought at small cost," c. 1500, ultimately from Old English noun ceap "traffic, a purchase," from ceapian (v.) "to trade, buy and sell," probably from early Germanic borrowings of Latin caupo "petty tradesman, huckster, peddler," cauponari "to haggle" (
pianoforte
1767, from Italian, from piano e forte "soft and loud," in full, gravicembalo col piano e forte "harpsichord with soft and...loud" (c. 1710), said to have been so named by inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) of Padua because the ability via...
roar
Middle English roren, "shout out, cry out with a full, loud, continued sound," from Old English rarian "roar, wail, lament...The meaning "travel in a motor vehicle making a loud noise" is by 1923. Related: Roared; roaring....
crow
Old English crawan "make a loud noise like a crow," probably imitative (see crow (n.))....From mid-13c. as "make a loud noise like a cock," which oddly has become the main sense, the use of the word in reference...
peal
Extended sense of "loud ringing of bells" is first recorded 1510s; subsequently it was transferred to other successions of...loud sounds (thunder, cannon, mass shouts or laughter)....
piano
"percussion musical instrument in which tones are produced by blows of hammers upon stretched strings, the hammers being operated from a keyboard," 1803, from French piano (18c.), Italian piano, shortened forms of pianoforte (q.v.). Essentially, the pianoforte is a large dulcime
gaudy
"showy, tastelessly rich," c. 1600; earlier "joyfully festive" (1580s), probably a re-adjectivizing of gaudy (n.) "large, ornamental bead in a rosary" (early 14c.) via the noun gaud + -y (2.). In early Modern English it also could mean "full of trickery" (1520s). Or possibly the
meretricious
1620s, "pertaining to harlots," from Latin meretricius "of or pertaining to prostitutes," from meretrix (genitive meretricis) "prostitute," literally "woman who earns money," from merere, mereri "to earn, gain" (from PIE root *(s)mer- (2) "to get a share of something"). Meaning "

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