▪ I. loud, a.
(laʊd)
Forms: 1 hl{uacu}d, 3–4 lud(e, 4–7 loude, lowd(e, 4 loud.
[Com. WGer.: OE. hl{uacu}d = OFris. (h)lûd, OS. hlûd (MDu. lût, lûd-, mod.Du. luid), OHG. hlût (MHG. lût, mod.G. laut):—OTeut. type *hlûđo-:—pre-Teut. *klūtó-, a passive pple. from the Aryan root *kleu- to hear (Teut. *hleu- in Goth. hliuþ listening attention; see lithe v.3), whence Gr. κλύειν to hear, κλέος renown, L. cluēre to be famed, cliens (pres. pple., lit. ‘hearer’) dependent, client, OSl. slava glory, slovo word, Skr. {cced}ru to hear, {cced}ravas glory. Outside Teut. the ppl. adjs. have a different ablaut-grade and meaning; so Gr. κλυτός, L. (in)clutus, OIr. cloth, Skr. {cced}ruta renowned.
For the remoter cognates representing the extended form *kleus- of the Aryan root, see list n.1]
1. a. Of sounds or voices: Strongly audible; making a powerful impression on the sense of hearing. Hence, with agent-noun: That (speaks, sings, etc.) with a loud voice.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 15 He þa cleopode hluddre stefne. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 89 Þo þe after him comen remden lude stefne Osanna filio dauid. a 1225 Ancr. R. 210 Uorte makien noise—lud dream to scheauwen hore horel. a 1250 Owl & Night. 5 Þat playd wes stif & starc & strong Sum hwile softe & lud among. 13.. Sir Beues 3129 (MS. A.) Iosian..spak to hire wiþ loude gret. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. xxxii. (1495) 246 Thryste and sethinge and lowde brethynge. c 1450 Holland Howlat 764 Claryonis lowde knellis. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Morn. Prayer, The priest..shall begynne with a loude voyce the Lordes prayer. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 280 Y⊇ man..fel into a lowd laughter. a 1645 A. Stafford Apol. Fem. Glory (1869) p. xcix, Priscian, a Bishop..said in somewhat too lowd a whisper [etc.]. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 666 Her fellow Nymphs the Mountains tear With loud Laments. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. iv. §7 Is the voice of man louder than that of thunder? 1816 Scott Antiq. vii, The mendicant and Lovel exerted their voices in a loud halloo. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. ii. ii. §6 (1864) 214 A loud speaker is exciting. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 651 A great body of sound is loud, and the opposite is low. |
b. Of musical instruments, the sea, winds, etc.: Making a loud sound, sonorous. Chiefly
poet.| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xxxvii. 266 Witodlice ðæt ar, ðonne hit mon slihð, hit bið hludre ðonne æniᵹ oðer andweorc. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 137 Thei speke and sounen in his Ere As thogh thei lowde wyndes were. 1604 E. Grimstone Hist. Siege Ostend 143 The North-winde was somewhat loude. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 59 Nor with less dread the loud Ethereal Trumpet from on high gan blow. 1728 Ld. Lyttelton Blenheim 81 Silent a while, and smooth, The Current glides, till..down the Steep it falls, In loud Cascades. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest vi, The storm was now loud. 18.. Campbell Lord Ullin's Daughter, 'Twas vain: the loud waves lash'd the shore, Return or aid preventing. 1898 W. K. Johnson Terra Tenebr. 35 Let the loud seas thunder here. |
c. Of a place, etc.: Full of noise, re-echoing.
rare.
| 1595 Shakes. John v. iv. 14 For if the French be Lords of this loud day He meanes [etc.]. a 1645 Heywood Fort by Land & Sea iii. i. Wks. 1874 VI. 396 All ways are loud, and hue and cry sent forth Through every hundred. 1871 Swinburne Eve of Revolution 123 Lands that are loud through all their length with chains. 1878 C. Stanford Symb. Christ iv. 105 Streets and factories loud with life and black with the dust of toil. |
2. fig. a. Clamorous, noisy; also, in more favourable sense, emphatic or vehement in expression.
| 1530 Tindale Wks. (1573) 327/2 After the loudest maner he setteth out the cruelnes of the Emperor's souldiours. 1611 Bible Prov. vii. 11 She is loud and stubburne, her feet abide not in her house. 1647 May Hist. Parl. i. viii. 88 Many Subjects in Europe have played lowder parts upon the Theatre of the world. 1680 Otway Orphan iii. iv. 865 Calls sawcy loud Suspicion, Public Zeal. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 128 ¶5 When we see a Fellow loud and talkative. 1734 Berkeley Analyst §1 Several who make the loudest claim to those qualities. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 1 The Church was louder than ever in professions of attachment to him. 1879 Morley Burke viii. 148 The French were held up to the loudest admiration. 1884 Tennyson Freedom x. Poems (1894) 576/2 Men loud against all forms of power. 1888 M. Morris Claverhouse viii. 147 Churchill's voice was loudest for battle. |
| absol. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 239 ¶11 Gold..silences the Loud and Clamorous. |
† b. Of motives: Pressing, urgent.
Obs.| 1604 Shakes. Oth. i. i. 151 For he's embark'd With such loud reason to the Cyprus Warres. |
† c. Grandiloquent, pompously laudatory.
Obs.| 1651 Jer. Taylor Holy Dying i. §2 (1686) 10 Many men..labour onely for a pompous Epitaph, and a loud title upon their Marble. |
† d. Manifest, palpable, flagrant. Chiefly of a lie.
Obs.| 1535 Goodly Primer To Rdr. (1834) 5, I omit the right loud lie before the Mass of Recordare. 1579 E. K. Gloss. to Spenser's Sheph. Cal. Apr. 120 Certain fine fablers, and loude lyers. 1590 Nashe Pasquil's Apol. i. C b, How durst you presume to make so lowde a lie? 1632 Sanderson Twelve Serm. 64 But what doe I speake of these, but petty things in comparison of those her lowder impieties? 1645 Milton Tetrach. Wks. (1847) 193/1 There is a loud exception against this law of God. 1650 Bulwer Anthropomet. 12 Many have held opinion, that Pliny and Aulus Gellius were loud liars. 1678 Ray Prov. (ed. 2) 89 A great Lie..That's a loud one. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Hummer, a loud Lie. |
3. transf. Of smell or flavour: Powerful, offensive. Now chiefly
U.S.| 1641 Milton Reform. ii. 20 Their..mouths cannot open without the strong breath and loud stench of avarice. 1842 Dickens Amer. Notes xiv, Pretty loud smell of varnish, sir? 1887 Goode etc. Fisheries U.S. Sect. v. II. 473 The natives..prefer to have the meat tainted rather than fresh, declaring that it is most tender and toothsome when decidedly ‘loud’. 1899 J. Pennell in Fortn. Rev. LXV. 122 The gas-lamp [for cycles] seems to make a very bright light. It is also said to make a very loud smell. |
4. Of colours, patterns, dress, manners, etc.: Vulgarly obtrusive, flashy. Opposed to
quiet.
| 1849 Thackeray Pendennis xxxix, The shirts too ‘loud’ in pattern. 1878 Besant & Rice Celia's Arb. xxxix. (1887) 287 The flashy rings upon his fingers;..the loud pattern of his trousers. 1883 Century Mag. XXVII. 106 Stained glass, indeed! loud, garish, thin, painty. 1884 Stationery Trades Rev. Sept. 215/2 Fine envelopes are not sold in such loud colours as they were a few years ago. 1889 ‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob (1891) 118 The girls were dreadfully loud in their dress. |
5. absol. † in loud,
† on loud:
aloud, with a loud voice.
† to the loudest: at the top of one's voice.
| c 1430 Pistill of Susan 161 (MS. Cott. Calig. A. ii.) Then sayde þo loselles on lowde [a 1400 (Vern.) aloude] to þat lady. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5835 Þe childe cryed on lowde, allase. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. ii. ii. 39 I'le..undertake to bee Her Aduocate to th' lowd'st. 1682 New Hampsh. Prov. Papers (1867) I. 456 My father..desired him in loud to go out of his house to his lodgings. |
6. Comb., chiefly parasynthetic, as
loud-flavoured,
loud-minded,
loud-mouthed,
loud-talking,
loud-tongued,
loud-voiced adjs.; also
loud-lashed a., lashed into loud uproar;
loud-mouth a., loud-mouthed, noisy; as
n., a person given to loud and self-assertive talk; hence as
vb., to talk in this manner, to bluster;
loud-mouthing vbl. n.| 1866 Howells Venet. Life vi. 84 A *loud-flavoured broth. |
| 1818 Hazlitt Eng. Poets iii. (1870) 68 The sea..*loud-lashed by furious storms. |
| 1845 Carlyle Cromwell II. 234 A certain loud-tongued, *loud-minded Mr. Feak. |
| 1668 E. Howard Usurper 63 Curse on these *loud-mouth Hounds! 1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra iv. 111 He was a loud-mouth and a good one-punch fighter. 1940 J. B. Priestley Postscripts 17 You will find that the laziest loud-mouth in the workshop has suddenly been given power. 1950 A. Lomax Mister Jelly Roll (1952) v. 235 Morton, the old whorehouse pianist who seemed to be trying to loud-mouth his way back to big time. 1959 Daily Mail 31 Jan. 4/2 These 625 vain, devious loud⁓mouths..are our elected representatives. 1968 M. Richler Cocksure ix. 52 We are most decidedly not done for. My goodness, the last loudmouth to make that mistake was Hitler. |
| 1628 Ford Lover's Mel. iii. i, I haue a *loud-mouth'd Cannon of mine owne to batter her. 1867 Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xli. 353 How, from the abjectness of his own humility..he would rebuke the loud-mouthed triumph of the bishop's wife. 1901 Expositor July 21 They were heretics of the blatant sort, loud-mouthed and shallow-minded. 1924 G. B. Shaw St. Joan i. i. 7 The self-assertive, loud⁓mouthed, superficially energetic, fundamentally will-less Robert. 1966 Listener 27 Oct. 609/1 The Surrey amateur with an Oxford background and the loud-mouthed crowd from the foundries suddenly coalesced. 1971 C. Bonington Annapurna South Face vii. 85 He was well built, very self-confident yet not loudmouthed. |
| 1950 W. L. James in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 431 Famous among those yet surviving names are ‘corn field holler’..and ‘*loud mouthing’. 1973 Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 26 Jan. 7/3 Money talks and there will be a lot of loud-mouthing before the future of the fourth channel is settled. |
| 1848 Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton I. i. 3 Merry and somewhat *loud-talking girls. 1925 T. Dreiser Amer. Trag. (1926) I. i. ix. 56 He was too smooth and loud-talking. |
| 1622 Massinger Virg. Mart. i. i, *Lowd tong'd Fame The harbinger to prepare their entertainment. 1857 Geo. Eliot Scenes Clerical Life, Janet's Repent. (1878) II. 184 Loud-tongued abuse. |
| 1850 Mrs. Browning Poems I. 28 *Loud-voiced imagery. |
▪ II. loud, adv. (
laʊd)
Forms: 1
hl{uacu}de, 2–4
lud(e, 3–4
loude, (4
lhoude,
louthe), 4–7
lowd(e, (5
louȝde), 4–
loud.
[OE. hl{uacu}de = OS. hl{uacu}do (Du. luid), OHG. hlûto, lûto (MHG. lûte, G. laut):—OTeut. *hlûdô, f. *hlûdo- loud a.] 1. a. Loudly, with a loud noise or voice; aloud.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 149 Hwæt is..þis folc þe her þus hlude singeþ? c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 43 Summe of þan monne..swa deor lude remeð. a 1225 Ancr. R. 290 Ȝif þe ne cumeð nout sone help, gred luddure mid hote heorte. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints vii. (Jacobus Minor) 208, & prayand fore þame Increly & lovd, þat al hard þis, can cry. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 3793 Þey..knokkede fast & louȝde at þe gate. c 1491 Chast. Goddes Chyld. 8 Some crye lowde wyth an hye woys. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. vi. 27 A Lyonesse.., That roaring all with rage did lowd requere Her children deare. 1632 Milton Penseroso 126 Kercheft in a comely cloud While rocking winds are piping loud. 1671 ― P.R. xi. 339 While they loudest sing The vices of thir Deities, and thir own. 1771 Goldsm. Hist. Eng. II. 211 The inhabitants clamoured so loud for a surrender. 1819 Hazlitt Pol. Ess. 148 He asserts a fact the louder, as he suspects it to be without proof. 1894 A. Robertson Nuggets etc. 216, I shouted ‘hurrah’, and laughed loud and long. |
† b. loud and still: under all circumstances. [So
MDu. lude en stille.]
Obs.| 1300–1400 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) App. xx. 352 Þat wolde libbe in ryot & habbe al hare wille In robberiȝe & prute boþe loude & stille. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 103 We suld pray, bathe loud and stille, For al cristen saules. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 8368, I must nedes doo his wil In al that I can loude or still. 1636 Heywood Loves Maistresse ii. i. Wks. 1874 V. 108 Let me hear some music, loud and still. |
† c. With
to lie: Openly, palpably. (
Cf. loud a. 2 d.)
Obs.| a 1400 Pistill of Susan 343 (Vernon MS.) Now þou liest loude, so helpe me vr lord. 1600 Holland Livy xxxviii. lv. 1019, I would rather thinke that the clerke..faulted with his pen in writing the copies, than the authour lied so lowd with his tongue. |
d. out loud, aloud, without restraint.
Cf. out-loud.
| 1821 M. Edgeworth Let. 22 Nov. (1971) 277 Lord Andover in the presence of Lord and Lady Suffolk and speaking out loud said ‘Miss Dutton..be so good to walk with me into the library.’ 1844 [see out-loud]. 1881 Trollope Ayala's Angel III. xlix. 67 He knew it would make me laugh out loud. 1924, 1933 [see cry v. 21 e]. 1939 G. B. Shaw In Good King Charles's Golden Days ii. 104 Even a dissolute court, as they say mine is—I suppose they mean a court where bawdy stories are told out loud instead of whispered. 1941 [see cry v. 21 e]. |
e. Phr.
loud and clear: (said, etc.) in a way that reduces or avoids confusion or misunderstanding; (
esp. in radio or telecommunication) (heard or received) loudly and clearly; also
transf.| 1871 ‘L. Carroll’ Through Looking-Glass vi. 133, I said it very loud and clear; I went and shouted in his ear. 1940 H. G. Wells Babes in Darkling Wood iii. ii. 256 I'd have to play the Star Spangled Banner, loud and clear, one hundred per cent. 1958 ‘Castle’ & Hailey Flight into Danger ix. 123 Hullo, Vancouver. 714 answering. Receiving you loud and clear. Over. 1959 Listener 19 Feb. 319/1 It seems desirable to say so loud and clear. 1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File vii. 43 Dalby looked up. ‘You are receiving me?’ ‘Loud and clear,’ I said. 1962 A. Shepard in Into Orbit 104, I also contacted..the chase planes—and heard them loud and clear. 1963 J. N. Harris Weird World Wes Beattie (1964) iii. 25 The fact is I remember that black Dodge loud and clear. 1970 C. Collingwood Defector iv. 33, I read you loud and clear. Now, suppose something does go wrong, what do I do? 1972 D. Lees Zodiac 90 They don't seem able to make up their minds whether to warn me off or knock me off but I do get the message loud and clear and..I'm going. |
2. Of smell: Strongly, offensively. (
Cf. loud a. 3 and
aloud adv. 2.)
| 1871 Joaquin Miller Songs Italy (1878) 104 Carry..some drug that smells loud. |
3. Comb. with
pres. and pa. pples. of verbs denoting or implying the production of sound,
e.g. loud-acclaiming,
loud-bellowing,
loud-laughing,
loud-ringing,
loud-roaring,
loud-screaming,
loud-singing,
loud-squeaking,
loud-thundering,
loud-ticking, etc.;
loud-roared, etc. Also
loud-spoken a., given to loud speaking.
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. ii. 733 The loud-roaring Thunder. Ibid. vi. 905 Loud-thundring Canons. a 1631 Donne Poems (1650) 87 Some lowd squeaking Cryer Well pleas'd with one leane thred-bare groat for hire. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 36 The christal⁓streaming Nid, loud-bellowing Clyde. 1667 G. C. Pref. to H. More's Div. Dial. (1713) 5 Those two loud-singing Nightingals of Arcadia. 1725 Pope Odyss. iv. 464 Loud-acclaiming Greeks the victor bless'd. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 596 Intemperate Jest, loud-laughing Mockery, and hood-winked Misrule. 1838 Dickens O. Twist xii, A very large and loud-ticking gold watch. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede v, A broad-faced, broad-chested, loud⁓screaming rascal. 1882 Stevenson New Arab. Nts. I. 138 Sir Thomas was..loud-spoken, boisterous and domineering. |
▪ III. loud(e obs. form of
laud v.