[f. SOUND v.1]
1. The fact of emitting or giving out a sound or sounds, or the power of doing this; the sound produced or given out by something, esp. a bell or trumpet.
α. 1388. Wyclif, Exod. xlx. 16. The sownyng of a clarioun made noise ful greetli.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVI. xxxvi. (Bodl. MS.). Bras accordeþ moste to trumpes and taboures for sownynge and longe duringe þerof.
c. 1450. Lovelich, Grail, lv. 292. That was the Noyse Of here Sownenge.
1482. Monk of Evesham, lvii. (Arb.), 110. As al the bellys yn the worlde or what sumeuer ys of sownyng had be rongyn to gedyr at onys.
1540–1. Elyot, Image Gov. (1549), 68. Harpes, lutes, organes softe in sownyng.
1557. Tottel’s Misc. (Arb.), 202. A blast so hye, That made an eckow in the ayer and sowning through the sky.
β. c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 466/1. Soundynge, sonatus.
c. 1450. Bk. Curtasye, 69, in Babees Bk. Ne suppe not with grete sowndynge.
1483. Cath. Angl., 350/1. A Sowndynge, sonoritas.
1530. Palsgr., 273/1. Soundyng, sonnerie.
c. 1595. Capt. Wyatt, Dudley’s Voy. (Hakl. Soc.), 46. The cause that made thease people flie from us … was the sowndinge of our trumpetts.
1662. Playford, Skill Mus., 72. A beginner … shall by this way use only one Sounding, viz. an Unison.
a. 1700. Evelyn, Diary, July 1645. The fillings up … ’twixt the walls were of urnes and earthen pots for the better sounding.
1706. A. Bedford, Temple Mus., ix. 196. The Trumpets sounded their Soundings.
1799. Instr. & Reg. Cavalry (1813), 284. These soundings are exactly the same as those of the trumpet.
1821. Clare, Vill. Minstr., II. 104. How fond the rustic’s ear at leisure dwells On the soft soundings of his village bells.
1882. Christina Rossetti, Poems (1904), 262/2. The irresponsive sounding of the sea.
fig. a. 1711. Ken, Christophil, Poet. Wks. 1721, I. 504. For thou Omniscient art, To know the Wants and Soundings of my Heart.
b. With advs., as again, on.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 466/2. Soundynge a-ȝene (or rebowndynge), resonatus, reboacio.
1560. Bible (Geneva), Ezek. vii. 7. The sounding againe of the mountaines.
1578. Lyte, Dodoens, 172. The braying or sounding againe of the Asse.
1852. Seidel, Organ, 45. The so-called howling or sounding-on of certain pipes when their respective keys are not pressed down.
2. Vocal utterance or pronunciation; resonant or sonorous quality of this.
1387. Trevisa, Higden (Rolls), II. 263. For men of þe est wiþ men of þe west … acordeþ more in sownynge of speche. Ibid. (1398), Barth. De P. R., V. xxi. (1495), 128. It faryth in children that they spylle and hurte many letters and maye not haue sownyng.
c. 1400. Maundev. (1839), xiv. 152. The Langage of that Contree is more gret in sownynge, than it is in other parties beȝonde the See.
1599. Minsheu, Sp. Gram., 6. G … hath two maner of soundings according to the vowels which follow it.
3. The (or an) act of causing a trumpet, bell, etc., to sound; the blowing of a bugle or trumpet, esp. as a signal.
1523. Ld. Berners, Froiss., I. xviii. 8 b. Euery man was warned to be redy at the fyrst soundyng of the trumpette.
1529. Registr. Aberdon. (Maitland), I. 396. Be conuocatioun of our said communitie be þe swndyng of þe bell usit in þis part.
1616. B. Jonson, Poetaster (Init.), After the second sounding.
1811. Regul. & Orders Army, 281. Whether perfect in the different Soundings of the Trumpet, and in the Beats of the Drum.
1880. Mrs. F. H. Burnett, Louisiana, 16. Only at the sounding of the second bell did Louisiana escape to her room to prepare for dinner.
† 4. = RINGING vbl. sb.2 3. Obs.–1
1600. Surflet, Countrie Farme, I. xii. 61. Against the noise and sounding of the eare.
5. The action of examining by percussion; spec. auscultation; an instance of this.
1883. Gresley, Gloss. Coal-mining, 230. Sounding. Knocking on the roof, &c., to ascertain if it is sound or safe to work under.
1898. Syd. Soc. Lex., Sounding, the operation of examining the chest; auscultation.
1900. E. Wallace, Writ in Barracks, 72. Didn’t mind the Doctor’s soundin’s.
6. Comb., as sounding-bar, -machine, -rod, -string; sounding bow, -box (see SOUND sb.3 7); sounding-post, = SOUND-POST.
1756. Dict. Arts & Sci., s.v. Bell, The parts of a Bell are (1) The sounding bow, or the inferior circle, which terminates it, growing thinner and thinner.
1838. Penny Mag., 30 June, 246/2. This peg is called the sounding-post … of the violin.
1847. Todd & Bowman, Phys. Anat., II. 97. Müller … could by means of a sounding-rod … ascertain the relative intensity of the sonorous vibrations.
1853. Herschel, Pop. Lect. Sci., vii. § 58 (1873), 275. The vibrations which reach the ear from a sounding-string.
1875. Whitney, Life Lang., iv. 59. Above the vibrating reed-apparatus is set, after the fashion of a sounding-box, the cavity of the pharynx.
1881. W. E. Dickson, Pract. Organ-building, v. 64–5. A long screw … biting well in one of the sounding-bars.
