sonority

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

noun, plural so·nor·i·ties.

Origin of sonority

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Where was the sonority in the metallic, crushing blows you dealt in the Liszt Ballade?
Old Fogy
James Huneker
By the 15th of October the voice of the patient had lost its sonority.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician
Frederick Niecks
By this means a great gain was made in richness and sonority.
Music: An Art and a Language
Walter Raymond Spalding
It increased the power of the voices and lent them a sonority difficult to believe.
The Ways of Men
Eliot Gregory
The last ensemble is exquisite—well-nigh unapproachable in sonority and charm.
Autobiographical Reminiscences with Family Letters and Notes on Music
Charles Gounod

1620s, from French sonorité and directly from Latin sonoritas "fullness of sound," from sonorus (see sonorous).