Unamplified

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing sound that has been left in its natural volume, without being boosted by an electronic device or speaker system
2. Referring to a voice or instrument performed without any electrical reinforcement, so it is heard at its original strength
3. Not increased in loudness or strength by electronic equipment, remaining acoustic and unenhanced in its sound

Etymology: "Unamplified" is about as plain as English word-building gets: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", attached to "amplified," the past participle of "amplify." The prefix has been part of English since Old English, when it was already a productive way to negate adjectives and participles, and it passes unchanged through Proto-Germanic back to the Proto-Indo-European root for "not." "Amplified" itself comes from "amplify," which English took from Latin "amplificare," meaning "to enlarge" (from "amplus," "large," plus "facere," "to make"). The Latin sense of making something larger is still intact: an amplified sound is one that has been made louder or stronger. Because "un-" can be attached freely to participles, "unamplified" simply means "not made louder or stronger," and it is most often used of sound, as in an unamplified guitar or voice.

Synonyms: acoustic, unplugged

Antonyms: amplified