audible (adj.)

"able to be heard," 1520s, from French audible and directly from Medieval Latin audibilis "that may be heard," from Latin audire "to hear" (from PIE root *au- "to perceive"). Related: Audibly; audibility; audibleness.

As a noun, "thing capable of being heard," from 1610s. The U.S. football sense of "signal called at the line of scrimmage to change the play called in the huddle" is by 1958.

updated on September 30, 2022