Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ḱlutós Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz Proto-West Germanic *hlūd Old English hlūd Middle English loude, loud, lud English loud From Middle English loude, loud, lud, from Old English hlūd (“loud, noisy, sounding, sonorous”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlūd, from Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz, *hlūþaz (“heard”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlewtos (“heard, famous”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”). More at listen. Cognates Akin to Scots loud, lowd (“loud”), Swedish ljud, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk lyd, Faroese ljóð, Icelandic hljóð, West Frisian lûd (“loud”), Dutch luid (“loud”), Low German lud (“loud”), German laut (“loud”), Irish clú (“repute”), Welsh clywed (“heard”), clod (“praise”), Latin laudare (“praise”), Tocharian A/B klots/klautso 'ear', klyostär 'heard', Ancient Greek κλυτός (klutós, “famous”), Albanian quaj (“to name, call”), shquar (“famous, notorious”), Old Armenian լու (lu, “the act of hearing”), Old Church Slavonic слава (slava, “glory”), слово (slovo, “word”), Sanskrit श्रव (śráva, “glory”).
1
Of a sound Of great intensity.
Turn that music down; it's too loud.
What was that? It sounded like a really loud sneeze.
1 more example
Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
2
Usually, Of a person Noisy.
Thing; event; thing; event
a loud party that went on all night
She is loud and stubborn.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs vii:11:
3
Usually, Of a person Not subtle or reserved, brash.
Some of the loudest blubberers are developers who, having made enormous profits as a result of local, state, and federal subsidies, complain that government doesn't do enough for them.1988 December 9, Ben Joravsky, “Property-tax assessments rise; north siders are revolting”, in Chicago Reader, archived from the original on 24 Oct 2020:
Many people, or at least a handful of very loud people, hate to being dubbed Millennial. They see it as derogatory.2015 August 24, Samantha Sharf, “What is a ‘Millennial’ Anyway? Meet the Man who Coined the Phrase”, in Forbes, New York, N.Y.: Forbes, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 Sep 2023:
4
Usually, Of clothing Having unpleasantly and tastelessly contrasting colours or patterns; gaudy.
a loud style of dress; loud colors
In comparison with the loud Portrait of E.C. Ricart (ill. p. 13) two years earlier, Miró has captured a soft, hushed atmosphere here.2006, Janis Mink, Joan Miró, →ISBN, page 22:
5
Slang, Of marijuana High-quality; premium; (by extension) having a strong or pungent odour indicating good quality.
6
Of an odor Of great intensity.
Ohls showed the motorcycle officer his badge and we went out on the pier, into a loud fish smell which one night's hard rain hadn't even dented.1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, →ISBN, page 45:
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ḱlutós Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz Proto-West Germanic *hlūd Old English hlūd Middle English loude, loud, lud English loud From Middle English loude, loud, lud, from Old English hlūd (“loud, noisy, sounding, sonorous”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlūd, from Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz, *hlūþaz (“heard”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlewtos (“heard, famous”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”). More at listen. Cognates Akin to Scots loud, lowd (“loud”), Swedish ljud, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk lyd, Faroese ljóð, Icelandic hljóð, West Frisian lûd (“loud”), Dutch luid (“loud”), Low German lud (“loud”), German laut (“loud”), Irish clú (“repute”), Welsh clywed (“heard”), clod (“praise”), Latin laudare (“praise”), Tocharian A/B klots/klautso 'ear', klyostär 'heard', Ancient Greek κλυτός (klutós, “famous”), Albanian quaj (“to name, call”), shquar (“famous, notorious”), Old Armenian լու (lu, “the act of hearing”), Old Church Slavonic слава (slava, “glory”), слово (slovo, “word”), Sanskrit श्रव (śráva, “glory”).
The expander doesn't really make the louds louder and the softs softer in one step […]2012, Sam McGuire, Paul Lee, The Video Editor's Guide to Soundtrack Pro, page 103:
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ḱlutós Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *hlūdê Proto-West Germanic *hlūdē Old English hlūde Middle English loude English loud From Middle English loude, from Old English hlūde (“loudly”), from Proto-Germanic *hlūda, *hlūdô (“loudly”), related to Etymology 1.
1
Loudly.
Who knocks so loud at door?c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:
Unluckily that worthy Officer having, in a literal Sense, taken his Fill of Liquor, had been some Time retired to his Bolster, where he was snoaring so loud, that it was not easy to convey a Noise in at his Ears capable of drowning that which issued from his Nostrils.1749, Henry Fielding, chapter 14, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book VII, pages 71-72:
1 more example
Money still talks — indeed, thanks in part to the Roberts court, it talks louder than ever. Still, ideas matter too, shaping both how we talk about society and, eventually, what we do.2014 April 25, Paul Krugman, “The Piketty Panic”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 04 Jul 2020: