loud
/laʊd/
adjective
Origin
Proto-Germanic
*hlūdaz — heard, loud
Overview
Meaning Now
- Producing or capable of producing much noise; easily heard.
- Ostentatious, garish, or offensively bright in color or design.
Literal older meaning
hollow
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Germanic → Old English → English
Earliest form
hlūd
Earliest period
Old English
Journey
The word stems from the same PIE root (*kleu-) as 'listen' and 'client' (one who hears/listens). In its earliest Germanic form, it literally meant 'that which has been heard', implying fame or renown, before narrowing to the physical sense of high volume.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*ḱlew-
“to hear”
Root meaning 'to hear' leads to Germanic *hlūdaz 'heard', i.e., 'what is heard'
- Old English
hlūd
“loud, noisy, famous”
- Middle English
loud
“loud, audible”
Connections
Word parts
loud
root
loud
Related across languages
German
laut
loud
Dutch
luid
loud
Old Norse
hljóð
sound, silence (later sense shift)
Related words
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Related to loud
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.