Acoustics

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

• acousticks obsolete

Origin

From French acoustique, from Ancient Greek ἀκουστικός, from ἀκούω ("to hear").

Full definition of acoustics

Noun

1. The physical quality of a space for performing music.Until they discovered the non-contractual concrete slab under the stage floor, everyone at wondered, since the renovations, why the acoustics had changed.
2. (physics) The science of sounds, teaching their nature, phenomena and laws.Acoustics, then, or the science of sound, is a very considerable branch of physics. - Sir .

Usage notes

The science was previously divided by some writers into diacoustics, which explains the properties of sounds coming directly from (sic! Webster) the ear; and catacoustica, which treats of reflected sounds or echoes. This division is now obsolete.

Related terms

• acoustic
• mechanical wave