Etymology
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echo (n.)

mid-14c., "sound repeated by reflection," from Latin echo, from Greek echo, personified in classical mythology as a mountain nymph who pined away for love of Narcissus until nothing was left of her but her voice, from or related to ekhe "sound," ekhein "to resound," from PIE *wagh-io-, extended form of root *(s)wagh- "to resound" (source also of Sanskrit vagnuh "sound," Latin vagire "to cry," Old English swogan "to resound"). Related: Echoes. Echo chamber attested from 1937.

echo (v.)

1550s (intrans.), c. 1600 (trans.), from echo (n.). Related: Echoed; echoing.

Entries linking to echo

re-echo (v.)

"to echo back, sound back or reverberate again," 1580s, from re- "back, again" + echo (v.). Related: Re-echoed; re-echoing.

catechesis (n.)

"oral instruction, catechism," 1753, from Latinized form of Greek katekhesis "instruction by word of mouth," from katekhein "to instruct orally," originally "to resound" (with sense evolution via "to sound (something) in someone's ear" to "to teach by word of mouth"). From kata "down" (in this case, "thoroughly") + ekhein "to sound, ring," from ekhe "sound," from PIE *(s)wagh- "to resound" (see echo (n.)).

updated on July 31, 2014

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Definitions of echo from WordNet
1
echo (n.)
the repetition of a sound resulting from reflection of the sound waves;
she could hear echoes of her own footsteps
Synonyms: reverberation / sound reflection / replication
echo (n.)
a reply that repeats what has just been said;
echo (n.)
a reflected television or radio or radar beam;
echo (n.)
a close parallel of a feeling, idea, style, etc.;
Napoleon III was an echo of the mighty Emperor but an infinitely better man
his contention contains more than an echo of Rousseau
echo (n.)
an imitation or repetition;
the flower arrangement was created as an echo of a client's still life
2
echo (v.)
to say again or imitate;
followers echoing the cries of their leaders
Synonyms: repeat
echo (v.)
ring or echo with sound;
Synonyms: resound / ring / reverberate
echo (v.)
call to mind;
His words echoed John F. Kennedy
Synonyms: recall
3
Echo (n.)
(Greek mythology) a nymph who was spurned by Narcissus and pined away until only her voice remained;
From wordnet.princeton.edu, not affiliated with etymonline.

Dictionary entries near echo

ecclesiastical

ecdysiast

echelon

echidna

echinoderm

echo

echoic

echolalia

echolocation

echopraxia

echovirus

© 2001-2022 Douglas Harper