Loudspeaker
/ˈlaʊdˌspiːkər/noun
A device that converts electrical signals into audible sound.
Did you know?Loudspeaker is a modern compound, but its first element, loud, goes back to Old English hlūd, a word for both noise and fame, so the root once carried the power of being heard far and wide.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
hlūd
“loud, noisy; also famous, renowned”
Old English
OE
spēcere
“speaker, one who speaks”
Middle English
ME
loud speker
“one who speaks loudly”
19th Century
English
loud-speaker
“a person or device that speaks loudly”
Modern English
English
loudspeaker
“an electroacoustic device for producing sound”