aftersound means A sound that persists or remains audible after its source has ceased to produce it; the perception of such a sound. It carries an Arena rating of 1752, earned across 17 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, aftersound ranks #1,601 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #1,716 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,078 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #3,789 of 17,131 for Scariest Words.
Why “aftersound” is a great word
A sound that persists or remains audible after its source has ceased to produce it, or a weaker sound immediately following a more salient one. From the English prefix after- (meaning 'subsequent to') and sound (meaning 'auditory sensation'), first attested in 1807 by G. H. Noehden. Unlike an echo, which requires a distinct physical rebound, or reverberation, which describes the complex blending of reflections in a space, aftersound is the simpler, intimate phenomenon of the original tone's own decay. It is the hum that lingers in the metal after a bell is struck, the phantom ring in the ears when a loud engine cuts off, or the ghost of a violin's final note hanging in the air—a brief, tangible proof that perception outlasts its cause, and that we hear, for a moment longer, what the world has already stopped making.
Etymology
From after- + sound.
noun
- A sound that persists or remains audible after its source has ceased to produce it; the perception of such a sound.e.g.“[…] the strings of an instrument, […] being strucken with the hand, do verberate the ayre in its first sound, and are reverberated by the ayre to an after-sound.” — 1659, Nathanael Homes, A Sermon Preached before Parliament, London: Edward Brewster, published 1660, page 33:
- The second, slower phase of decay in the sound made by a piano string when it is struck.
- A weaker sound that immediately follows a more salient one, such as the second, less prominent vowel sound in a falling diphthong.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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