early 14c., drounen, "suffocate by immersion in water or other fluid," also intransitive, "be suffocated by immersion (etc.)," also figurative, "to overwhelm or overpower by rising above as a flood," perhaps from an unrecorded variant of Old English druncnian (Middle English druncnen) "be swallowed up by water" (originally of ships as well as living things); at any rate it is probably from the base of drincan "to drink" (see drink (v.) and compare drench).

Or perhaps it is from Old Norse drukna "be drowned," which has at least influenced the modern form of the word, via North of England dialect. Related: Drowned; drowning. To drown (someone or something) out formerly was "to force to come out by influx of water;" in reference to sounds, by 1884.

c. 1200, "to submerge, sink; drown, kill by drowning," from Old English drencan "give drink to, ply with drink, make drunk; soak, saturate; submerge, drown," causative of drincan "to drink" (see drink (v.)), from Proto-Germanic *drankijan (source also of Old Norse drekkja, Swedish dränka, Dutch drenken, German tränken, Gothic dragkjan "to give to drink").

The sense of "to wet thoroughly by throwing liquid over" is by 1550s. For similar causal pairs, compare stink and stench, cling and clench, shrink and Middle English shrench "cause to shrink." Related: Drenched; drenching.

late 14c., "to choke, suffocate, drown," of uncertain origin, possibly an alteration of Old French estouffer "to stifle, smother" (Modern French étouffer), itself of uncertain etymology, perhaps from a Germanic source (compare Old High German stopfon "to plug up, stuff"). Metaphoric sense is from 1570s. Related: Stifled; stifling.

"clamorous, noisy, boisterous, especially in opposition," c. 1600, from Latin obstreperus "clamorous," from obstrepere "drown with noise, make a noise against, oppose noisily," from ob "against" (see ob-) + strepere "make a noise," from PIE *strep-, said to be imitative (compare Latin stertare "to snore," Old Norse þrefa "to quarrel," þrapt "chattering, gossip," Old English þræft "quarrel"). But de Vaan writes, "It is uncertain that *strep- goes back to PIE, since it is only found in Latin and Germanic." Extended sense of "resisting control, management, or advice" is by 1650s. Related: Obstreperously; obstreperousness.

"an organized group," originally especially of armed men, late 15c., from French bande, which is traceable to the Proto-Germanic root of band (n.1), perhaps via a band of cloth worn as a mark of identification by a group of soldiers or others (compare Gothic bandwa "a sign"). But perhaps it is rather from Middle English band, bond in the sense "force that unites, bond, tie" (late 14c.). Also compare Old Norse band "cord that binds; act of binding," also "confederacy."

The extension to "group of musicians" is c. 1660, originally musicians attached to a regiment of the army and playing instruments which may be used while marching. To beat the band (1897) is to make enough noise to drown it out, hence to exceed everything. One-man band is recorded by 1931 in the sense of "man who plays several musical instruments simultaneously;" the figurative extension is attested by 1938.