Echo

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈɛkəʊ/

Definitions

1. The repetition of a sound caused by reflection ; to repeat or reflect a sound or signal ; to imitate or reproduce a speech or action
2. A sound that returns after bouncing off a surface ; to cause a sound to be reflected back ; to mimic or copy someone or something
3. When a sound bounces and is heard again ; to send back a sound or signal ; to replicate or closely follow an example

Etymology: The Greek word "ēkhḗ" meant simply "sound," and the nymph Echo in Greek myth took her name from it, which is why the word for a reflected sound carries a mythological figure inside it. In the story, Echo could only repeat the last words spoken to her, a punishment that left her unable to tell her own love for Narcissus, and only her voice survived after she faded away. The myth gave English a personal name for a natural phenomenon, and the word came into the language through Latin and Greek forms such as "ecco" and "ekko," which were used alongside "echo" in older English. The noun and verb senses both grew from this physical idea: a sound bouncing back from a surface, then a sound that is repeated or imitated by another source. The word is related, possibly, to "sough," an English word for a rushing or sighing sound, though that connection is uncertain.

Synonyms: reverberation, reflection, resonance, return, replication

Antonyms: silence, stillness, quiet, hush, muteness