volume
[vol-yoom, -yuh m]
- a collection of written or printed sheets bound together and constituting a book.
- one book of a related set or series.
- a set of issues of a periodical, often covering one year.
- History/Historical. a roll of papyrus, parchment, or the like, or of manuscript.
- the amount of space, measured in cubic units, that an object or substance occupies.
- a mass or quantity, especially a large quantity, of something: a volume of mail.
- amount; total: the volume of sales.
- the degree of sound intensity or audibility; loudness: to turn up the volume on a radio.
- fullness or quantity of tone.
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- speak volumes,
- to be very evident or significant: Her testimony spoke volumes.
- to be expressive or meaningful: Your eyes speak volumes.
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Origin of volume
1350–1400; Middle English volum(e) < Middle French < Latin volūmen roll (of sheets), equivalent to volū-, base of volvere to roll + -men noun suffix
Synonym study
5. See size1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
volume
- the magnitude of the three-dimensional space enclosed within or occupied by an object, geometric solid, etcSymbol: V
- a large mass or quantitythe volume of protest
- an amount or totalthe volume of exports
- fullness or intensity of tone or sound
- the control on a radio, etc, for adjusting the intensity of sound
- a bound collection of printed or written pages; book
- any of several books either bound in an identical format or part of a series
- the complete set of issues of a periodical over a specified period, esp one year
- history a roll or scroll of parchment, papyrus, etc
- speak volumes to convey much significant information
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Abbreviations (for senses 6–8): v, vol
Word Origin
C14: from Old French volum, from Latin volūmen a roll, book, from volvere to roll up
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for speak volumes
volume
n.
late 14c., "roll of parchment containing writing, large book," from Old French volume, from Latin volumen (genitive voluminis) "roll (as of a manuscript), coil, wreath," from volvere "to turn around, roll" (see volvox). Meaning "book forming part of a set" (1520s) is from a sense in French. Generalized sense of "bulk, mass, quantity" (1620s) developed from that of "bulk or size of a book" (1520s), again following the sense evolution in the French version of the word.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
volume
(vŏl′yōōm, -yəm)- The amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object or region of space, expressed in cubic units.
- The capacity of such a region or of a specified container, expressed in cubic units.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
volume
[vŏl′yōōm]
- The amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object or region of space. Volumes are expressed in cubic units.
- A measure of the loudness or intensity of a sound.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
volume
In mathematics, the amount of space occupied by an object measured in three dimensions, expressed in cubic units. In physics, the loudness of a sound.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with speak volumes
speak volumes
Be significant, indicate a great deal, as in That house of theirs speaks volumes about their income. This idiom uses volumes in the sense of “the information contained in volumes of books.” [c. 1800]
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volume
see speak volumes.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.