Echo Meaning
/ˈɛk.əʊ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA reflected sound that is heard again by its initial observer.
nounAn utterance repeating what has just been said.
Sentence Examples
We heard the echo of our voices from the other side of the valley.
Your eyes reflect the echo of my voice.
There was an echo on the phone and I couldn't hear clearly.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sound of the drum began to ____ through the narrow canyon repeatedly.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We heard the ____ of our voices from the other side of the valley.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂gʰ-der. Proto-Hellenic *wākʰā́ Ancient Greek ἠχή (ēkhḗ) Proto-Indo-European *-ṓy Ancient Greek -ώ (-ṓ) Ancient Greek ἠχώ (ēkhṓ)bor. Latin ēchō Medieval Latin ēccōbor. Middle English eccho English echo From Middle English eccho, ecco, echo, ekko, from Medieval Latin ēccō, from Latin ēchō, from Ancient Greek ἠχώ (ēkhṓ), from ἠχή (ēkhḗ, “sound”). Possibly from the same Proto-Indo-European root as sough.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The babbling echo mocks the hounds."
— c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
"To you I mourn; nor to the Deaf I ſing, / The Woods ſhall anſwer, and their Echo ring."
— 1709 May, Alexander Pope, “Pastorals. Summer. The Second Pastoral, or Alexis.”, in Poetical Miscellanies: The Sixth Part. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 732:
"“Then what is your little trouble?” “My little trouble!” I felt that this sort of thing must be stopped at its source. It was only ten minutes to dressing-for-dinner time, and we could go on along these lines for hours. “Listen, old crumpet,” I said patiently. “Make up your mind whether you are my old friend Reginald Herring or an echo in the Swiss mountains. If you're simply going to repeat every word I say –”"
— 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter X, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
"Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them."
— 2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7:
"Fame is the echo of actions, resounding them."
— 1642, Thomas Fuller, The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sound of the drum began to ____ through the narrow canyon repeatedly.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We heard the ____ of our voices from the other side of the valley.