▪ I. profound, a. (n.)
(prəʊˈfaʊnd)
Also β. 5–7 profund-e.
[a. OF. profund, profond (c 1175 in Godef. Compl., parfund 11th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), ad. L. profund-us deep, high, vast, obscure, profound (also profundum n.), f. prō, pro-1 + fundus bottom. The ou of Eng. is as in abound, found vb., round. The β-form profund was chiefly a conformation to L., but partly a Sc. phonetic variant.
In Latin profundus, the physical sense was the original, the intellectual and normal sense being transf., but in Eng. the literal sense was already expressed by deep, so that profound with its family was first used in a transferred sense, and only later in the literal sense, either in transl. French or Latin, or as a more sonorous and impressive word than deep. But it is convenient here to follow the original sense-development.]
1. Deep (as a physical or material quality). a. Having great or considerable downward (or inward) measurement; of great depth.
| c 1407 [implied in profoundly 1]. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. xliii. (1814) 135 An hydeous ryuer, depe & perfound. 1550 J. Coke Eng. & Fr. Heralds §155 (1877) 102 A kyng that wolde be lorde of the sea, must have..great and perfounde waters and havyns to kepe his shyps in. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 501 Not..for all the Sun sees, or The close earth wombes, or the profound sea hides In vnknowne fadomes. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 23 Gainst Ioue once making head, he..flung me from the profound skie. 1629 Milton Hymn Nativity xxiv, Naught but profoundest Hell can be his shroud. 1715–20 Pope Iliad vii. 409 Ample gates..For passing chariots; and a trench profound. 1823 Scott Quentin D. xxv, Surrounded by strong bulwarks and profound moats. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. vii. 55 A series of profound crevasses. |
| β c 1475 Partenay 1180 The diches profunde large brede gan purchas. |
b. Situated or extending far beneath the surface; deep-seated, deep-reaching.
| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 253 Of my mynde the myd poynt moost profounde. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xix. (Percy Soc.) 88 O profounde cause of all my sekenesse. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. i. ii. 59 Which of your hips has the most profound Ciatica? 1612 Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 90 Wounds made..by..a thrust profound or superficial. 1857 Dunglison Med. Lex. s.v. Profundus, Certain muscles are distinguished by the names profound or deep-seated, and superficial. 1884 Pall Mall G. 13 Sept. 5/1 The agency of heated water at profound depths. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 591 Senile gangrene is generally more profound [than symmetrical gangrene]. |
| β 1707 Floyer Physic. Pulse-Watch 388 The profund Pulse of the Lungs indicates Hæmorrhagies, and Heat and Death. |
c. Originating in, or coming from, a depth; deeply drawn, deep-fetched (as a sigh); carried far down or very low (as a bow or inclination of the body).
| ? a 1550 Knt. of Curtesy 184 No comforte..coude he take, Nor absteine him fro perfounde syghinge. 1602 Shakes. Ham. ii. i. 94 He rais'd a sigh, so pittious and profound. 1603 Drayton Odes v. 31 Let not a Man drinke, but in Draughts profound. 1732 T. Lediard Sethos II. ix. 340 The three ambassadors..made a profound reverence. 1799 Harriet Lee Canterbury T. I. 199 ‘Why?’ said Dorsain..with a profound sigh. 1877 J. D. Chambers Div. Worship 306 A profound inclination of the body. |
2. a. Of a person: Characterized by intellectual depth; that penetrates or has penetrated deeply into a subject of knowledge, study, or thought; having great insight into or knowledge of something; very learned. In quot. 1611 (app.) Deep or subtle in contrivance, crafty, cunning (cf. deep a. 17).
(The earliest sense in English.)
| c 1305 Edmund Conf. 221 in E.E.P. (1862) 77 Of art he radde six ȝer..& siþþe for beo more profound, to arsmetrike he drouȝ. 1481 Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 89 A connyng man and a profounde clerk in many sciencis. 1570 Dee Math. Pref. 2 The constant profound Philosopher. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. v. ii. 67 A Magitian, most profound in his Art. 1611 Bible Hosea v. 2 The reuolters are profound to make slaughter. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1662) i. 121 Their Abbot..was pious, painfull, and a profound Schollar. 1734 Berkeley Analyst §3 Those who in this age pass for profound geometers. 1844 Disraeli Coningsby iii. i, The greatest captain and the profoundest statesman of the age. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. III. xii. 110 The profoundest of metaphysicians and divines. |
b. Of personal attributes, actions, or works: Showing depth of insight or knowledge; entering deeply into a subject; marked by great learning.
| c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 363 Þe suffissant clergye, Endowyd of profound intelligence. 1497–8 Petit. Parlt. Drogheda (Patent Roll 13 Hen. VII, m. 27) They nedar canne ne dare cast dart or spear be cause they haue not the profounde wey and feate of it. 1532 Frith Mirror Wks. (1829) 263 If a man praise a very fool, and think his wit good and profound, then is that person, indeed, more fool than the other. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. i. 92 To be drest in an opinion Of wisedome, grauity, profound conceit. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. Pref. c iij b, Their profoundest Speculations. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 222 Learned Nonsense has a deeper Sound, Than easy Sense, and goes for more profound. 1783 Blair Rhet. xxxiv. (1812) II. 444 Some of the profoundest things which have been written. 1834 M. Somerville Connex. Phys. Sc. xxi. (1849) 205 A most profound mathematical inquiry. 1855 Brewster Newton II. xvii. 155 His profound and beautiful letters on the existence of the Deity. |
| β 1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert (E.E.T.S.) 88 He comitted al þis disposicion to þe profund councell of our Lord. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. II. 579 He was admired by great Scholars..for his profund divinity. |
3. Of non-material things figured as having depth. a. Of a subject of thought: Deep in meaning; demanding deep study or research; abstruse, recondite; sometimes connoting Difficult to ‘fathom’ or understand; having a meaning that does not lie on the surface.
| c 1407 Lydg. Reson & Sens. 4856 Neuer yet was rad noo songe..so worthy of renoun, To spekyn of philosophie, Nor of profounde poetrie. 1529 More Dyaloge i. Wks. 159/1 No man is there so connyng, but he may finde in them thinges..farre to profounde to perce vnto. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. xix. 114 A higher and profounder doctrine. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 365 It contains profound meanings. 1849 H. B. Smith Faith & Philos. (1850) 23 Christianity..is simple as is light to the eye of the child, it is profound as is light to the eye of the sage. |
| β 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. i. 88 That w{supt} the gretter facilitie we may prepare the way sum things to reherse mair profunde. |
b. Of a condition, state, or quality: Having depth or intensity; intense, thorough, extreme, very great; in which one may be intensely immersed or engaged; unbroken or undisturbed (as profound silence, sleep, rest, peace); deeply-rooted, deep-seated; deeply-buried, hence, concealed or involving concealment (as a profound secret, etc.).
| 1599 Shakes. Much Ado v. i. 198 Prin. He is in earnest. Clau. In most profound earnest. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 577 Being of a lewd disposition and profound perfidiousnesse. a 1659 Osborn Observ. Turks Wks. (1673) 273 The fear of lapsing into grosser Idolatry, or profounder Atheism. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 113 ¶2 Here followed a profound Silence. 1757 Burke Abridgm. Eng. Hist. iii. ix, In the profoundest peace. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) II. 331 The sublime impression which they produce becomes still more profound, when they recal to us some sentiment of virtue. 1805 Nelson Let. 11 May in Sotheby's Catal. 6–9 Dec. (1905) 131, My departure for the West Indies..you will keep a profound secret. 1833 L. Ritchie Wand. by Loire 35 Wearied travellers buried in profound sleep. 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville II. 264 The chief, and all present, listened with profound attention. 1841 Myers Cath. Th. iii. §7. 22 Language is most imperfect when feeling is most profound. a 1853 Robertson Lect. & Addr. ii. (1858) 59 In profoundest ignorance of the opinions. 1871 L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. (1894) iv. 242 Profound melancholy seemed to haunt the hollows of the mountain ridges. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 458 Profound unconsciousness. Mod. It is a subject in which I take a profound interest. |
c. Said of reverence, respect, submission, or the like: often having some reference to the notion of bowing low, lowly reverence (cf. 1 c).
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 167 b, The holy fathers & sayntes..had this profounde mekenes. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iii. iii. 113, I do loue My Countries good, with a respect more tender, More holy, and profound, then mine owne life. 1688 Answ. Talon's Plea 5 Their extraordinary respect, and profoundest submission. 1721 in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 305 With the profoundest regard and esteem, Sir, your most humble and most obedient servant. 1737 Pope Hor. Epist. ii. ii. 154 They treat themselves with most profound respect. 1836 J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. iv. (1852) 92 A knowledge to which the reflecting mind pays the profoundest homage. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola xxvi, The air of profound deference. 1878 Stewart & Tait Unseen Univ. Introd. 12 The most profound reverence. |
B. n.
1. That which is profound or eminently deep, or the deepest part of something; a vast depth; an abyss. lit. and fig. chiefly poetical.
| 1640 G. Sandys Christ's Passion iii. 242 To raise it from that dark Profound. 1735 Somerville Chase iii. 287 The unwieldly Beast..drops into the dark Profound. 1742 Young Nt. Th. iv. 593 Eternity, too short to speak thy praise! Or fathom thy profound of love to man! 1813 T. Busby Lucretius II. v. Comm. p. xxiv, [Galileo] who..taught future philosophers..to penetrate farther into the blue profound. 1839 Bailey Festus iii. (1852) 30 Probe the profound of thine own nature, man! |
b. spec. The depth of the sea or other deep water; the deep sea, ‘the deep’. poetical.
| 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. xi. (1626) 234 On that profound Poore I was wrackt; yet thou with-out me drownd. 1725 Pope Odyss. viii. 34 Expert to try The vast profound, and bid the vessel fly. 1807 J. Barlow Columb. i. 202 Nor billowy surge disturbs the vast profound. |
2. Intellectual depth or profundity. rare—1.
| 1778 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Ep. to Reviewers ix, I never question'd your profound of head. |
▪ II. † profound, v. Obs.
[a. obs. F. profonder (14th c., Oresme) ‘to sound, search, pierce, or goe deepe into; to diue, or sinke vnto the bottom of; to presse downe, or put into the deepe’ (Cotgr.) (in med.L. profundāre), f. profond profound a.]
1. trans. To immerse or plunge deeply; pa. pple. deep-seated.
| ? a 1412 Lydg. Two Merchants 312 Whan..Deeply profoundid is heete natural In thilke humydite i-callyd radical. 1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §55 Vice and the Devil put a Fallacy upon our Reasons, and, provoking us too hastily to run from it, entangle and profound us deeper in it. |
2. To go deeply into; to ‘sound’, ‘fathom’.
| 1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §13 There is no danger to profound these mysteries, no sanctum sanctorum in Philosophy. 1646 ― Pseud. Ep. i. ix. (1686) 27 To profound the Ocean of that Doctrine. |
3. intr. To penetrate deeply, ‘dive’ (into, etc.).
| 1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §14 To profound farther, and to contemplate a reason why His Providence hath so disposed and ordered their motions. 1661 Glanvill Van. Dogm. 227 Let the most confirm'd Dogmatist profound far into his indeared opinions, and..'twill be an effectual cure of confidence. |