sonority

[suh-nawr-i-tee, -nor-]

noun

plural

sonorities 

1. the condition or quality of being resonant or sonorous.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sonority¹

1515–25; < Medieval Latin sonōritās < Late Latin: melodiousness, equivalent to Latin sonōr ( us ) ( sonorous ) + -itās -ity

Example Sentences

While it’s quicker and faster than its predecessors, much of the focus seems to be on delivering emotional content rather than stopwatch performance—most obviously, in the presence and sonority of the engine.

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These consisted of a Rameau/Handel program, studies in luxuriant sonorities.

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Since the 1990s we’ve grown accustomed to hip-hop importing and metabolizing the sonorities and techniques of jazz.

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But theirs was a daring venture at a time when most listeners preferred string quartets, with their even sonorities and vast repertory, for intimate chamber concerts.

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The arresting analog engineering of the Royce Hall sessions are where you witness the marvelous Mehta Sound — where each sonority has a personality, even a kind of chutzpah.

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Related Words

• accent 
• harmony 
• melody 
• music 
• noise 
• note 
• tone 
• vibration 
• voice