volume
noun
Nearby words
Idioms
- to be very evident or significant: Her testimony spoke volumes.
- to be expressive or meaningful: Your eyes speak volumes.
Origin of volume
Synonym study
British Dictionary definitions for speak volumes
volume
noun
Word Origin for volume
Word Origin and History for speak volumes
volume
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.
Medicine definitions for speak volumes
volume
n.
Science definitions for speak volumes
volume
Culture definitions for speak volumes
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.
Idioms and Phrases with speak volumes (1 of 2)
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]
Idioms and Phrases with speak volumes (2 of 2)
volume
see speak volumes.