[OE. hlúdnis, f. hlúd LOUD + -nis -NESS.] The quality or condition of being loud; an instance of this.
c. 1050. Byrhtferth’s Handboc, in Anglia (1885), VIII. 332. Clamor on lyden on englisc ys hludnys.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 314/1. Lowdenesse, altitudo.
1530. Palsgr., 241/1. Loudnesse, haultesse.
1647. Crashaw, Poems, 131. His prayers took their price and strength Not from the loudness nor the length.
1733. Swift, New Simile for Ladies, 21. When th’ alarum-bell is rung Of Xanti’s everlasting tongue, The husband dreads its loudness more Than lightning’s flash or thunder’s roar.
1860. Tyndall, Glac., I. ii. 16. These echos would diminish in loudness just as the images of the candle diminish in brightness.
1881. H. James, Portr. Lady, xxv. in Macm. Mag., XLIII. 413. Naturally, he couldn’t like her style, her loudness, her want of repose.
1881. Broadhouse, Mus. Acoustics, 394. They produce beats, or loudnesses separated by silences.
