percuss, v.
(pəˈkʌs)
[f. L. percuss-, ppl. stem of percutĕre to strike or thrust through, f. per- 1 + quatĕre to shake, strike, dash, etc.]
† 1. trans. To strike so as to shake or give a shock to; hence gen. to strike, hit, knock, give a blow to. Also fig. Obs. (in general sense).
| 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus ii. 146 Percust he was into perplexitie. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 6 Earth quakes percussed, men with the affright. 1626 Bacon Sylva §117 Solid Bodies, if they be very softly percussed, give no Sound. 1694 Motteux Rabelais v. (1737) 229 Our Auricles, percuss'd by Fame sonorous. |
2. Med. To tap or strike gently (some part of the body) with the finger or an instrument, for purposes of diagnosis, or of therapeutics.
| 1834 J. Forbes Laennec's Dis. Chest (ed. 4) 17 When we percuss comparatively the two sides of the chest. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 382 The joints or muscles affected, may be percussed, pressed or moved with impunity. |
b. absol. or intr.
| 1849–52 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 1034/1 Percussing over the 5th rib at its junction with its cartilage. 1883 T. L. Brunton in Nature 8 Mar. 437/2 Thus he percusses rapidly over a nerve when the pain is dull or grinding, and percusses slowly when the pain is acute. |
Hence perˈcussed ppl. a. (in Her. = percussant); perˈcussing ppl. a.
| 1572 J. Bossewell Armorie ii. 42 [Lions] are borne... Their tayles forked,..descendante, percussed, and contercoloured. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 55 Storms, or Oars, or other percussing bodies. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 656 The sound produced by the impact of the percussing finger on the one percussed. |