reverberation
[ri-vur-buh-rey-shuh n]
- 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.
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Origin of reverberation
1350–1400; Middle English reverberacioun < Medieval Latin reverberātiōn- (stem of reverberātiō). See reverberate, -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for reverberation
Historical Examples
They were like the reverberation of some far-off tutored circle.
The Tragic MuseHenry James
I tell you what it is, Pugh, what I hear is the reverberation of some machinery.
The Lock And Key LibraryVarious
This reference to the "mewel" was only a reverberation of the town talk as Lin had predicted.
Watch Yourself Go ByAl. G. Field
Meanwhile there was no reverberation from Seymour Street—only a sultry silence.
The MarriagesHenry James
The reverberation of his footsteps vibrated through his brain.
Sentimental Education, Volume IIGustave Flaubert
Word Origin and History for reverberation
n.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper