Etymograph

English

sonority

Sonority comes from Latin sonōritās ‘fullness of sound, melodiousness’, from sonō ‘to make a noise, to resound’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swenh₂-1‘to sound, resound’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swonh₂éyeti1reconstructediterative present of *swenh₂-
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*swonaō1‘to sound, resound’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonō2‘to make a noise, to resound’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonor3‘a sound’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonōrus4‘sounding’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonōritās5‘fullness of sound, melodiousness’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentsonorité5
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1979sonority5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sono
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin sonor
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin sonorus
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Latin sonoritas
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English sonority
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, High Fidelity Musical America: “Another quality that bothers me is Brendel's inconsistent sonority.…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swenh₂-Wiktionary, Latin sono‘to sound, resound’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swonh₂éyetiWiktionary, Latin sonoreconstructediterative present of *swenh₂-
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*swonaōWiktionary, Latin sono‘to sound, resound’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonōWiktionary, Latin sonor‘to make a noise, to resound’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonorWiktionary, Latin sonorus‘a sound’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonōrusWiktionary, Latin sonoritas‘sounding’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonōritāsWiktionary, English sonority‘fullness of sound, melodiousness’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentsonoritéWiktionary, English sonority
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1979sonorityWiktionary, English sonority. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, High Fidelity Musical America: “Another quality that bothers me is Brendel's inconsistent sonority.…”

Formed from sonorous + -ity

Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- ‘to sound, resound’

…

Proto-Italic *swonaō ‘to sound, resound’

Latin sonō ‘to make a noise, to resound’

Latin sonor ‘sound’

Latin sonōrus ‘sounding, resounding’

English sonorous

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- ‘to sound, resound’

sound, swan, unison, sonnet, sone, 10 more

through Proto-Italic *swonaō ‘to sound, resound’

impersonal, 6 more

through Latin sonō ‘to make a noise, to resound’

re, personal, personnel, resonance, resonate, resonant, parson, resound, consonance, 7 more

Today it means

noun The property of being sonorous.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sonority”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin sono, Latin sonor, Latin sonorus, Latin sonoritas. 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 *swenh₂- / sonority

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