Percuss
Origin
From Old French percussir, from Latin percussus, past participle of percutere ("to strike or pierce through"), from per ("through") + quatere (" to shake, strike").
Full definition of percuss
Verb
- (transitive) To strike; to hit; to knock; to deliver a blow to.Solid bodies, if they be very softly percussed, give no sound.
- (intransitive) To impact.Falling on the roof of the caravan, the hailstones percussed noisily.
- (transitive, chiefly medicine) To attempt to divine the location or other quality of something by tapping on (an overlying surface).The doctor percussed his chest to determine whether he had pneumonia.
- (transitive, chiefly medicine) To attempt to divine the location or other quality of (something) by tapping on an overlying surface.Percussing a patient's spleen is best done while he is on his back.