reverberation

[ri-vur-buh-rey-shuh n]

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noun

a reechoed sound.

the fact of being reverberated or reflected.

something that is reverberated: Reverberations from the explosion were felt within a six-mile radius.

an act or instance of reverberating.

Physics. the persistence of a sound after its source has stopped, caused by multiple reflection of the sound within a closed space.

the act or process of subjecting something to reflected heat, as in a reverberatory furnace.

RELATED WORDS

repercussion, consequence, echo

Origin of reverberation

1350–1400; Middle English reverberacioun < Medieval Latin reverberātiōn- (stem of reverberātiō). See reverberate, -ion

Examples from the Web for reverberation

Historical Examples of reverberation

They were like the reverberation of some far-off tutored circle.
The Tragic Muse
Henry James
I tell you what it is, Pugh, what I hear is the reverberation of some machinery.
The Lock And Key Library
Various
This reference to the "mewel" was only a reverberation of the town talk as Lin had predicted.
Watch Yourself Go By
Al. G. Field
Meanwhile there was no reverberation from Seymour Street—only a sultry silence.
The Marriages
Henry James
The reverberation of his footsteps vibrated through his brain.
Sentimental Education, Volume II
Gustave Flaubert

Word Origin and History for reverberation

late 14c., "reflection of light or heat," from Old French reverberacion "great flash of light; intense quality," from Medieval Latin reverberationem (nominative reverberatio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin reverberare "beat back, strike back, repel, cause to rebound," from re- "back" (see re-) + verberare "to strike, to beat," from verber "whip, lash, rod," related to verbena "leaves and branches of laurel," from PIE *werb- "to turn, bend" (see warp (v.)). Sense of "an echo" is attested from 1620s.