Etymograph

English

loud

Loud comes from Old English hlūd ‘loud, noisy’, from Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlewtos ‘heard’, from *ḱlew- ‘to hear’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-1‘to hear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlewtos1‘heard, famous’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlūdaz1‘loud’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hlūd1‘loud’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150hlūd1‘loud, noisy’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500loud1‘loud’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611loud1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English loud
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “She is loud and stubborn.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-Wiktionary, English loud‘to hear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlewtosWiktionary, English loud‘heard, famous’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlūdazWiktionary, English loud‘loud’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hlūdWiktionary, English loud‘loud’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150hlūdWiktionary, English loud‘loud, noisy’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500loudWiktionary, English loud‘loud’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611loudWiktionary, English loud. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “She is loud and stubborn.”

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Another origin of loud

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-‘to hear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlutós‘heard, listened’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlūdazreconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlūdêreconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hlūdēreconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150hlūde‘loudly’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500loude‘Loudly’
  8. Englishtodayloud

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Today it means

adj Of great intensity.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “loud”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- / loud