What is the word origin of sounding?
It seems that the dictionary gives a circular definition.
"sounding - the act of measuring depth of water (usually with a sounding line)" (TheFreeDictionary)
Is it coincidence that it predates SONAR but seems similar sounding? (pun intended)
Jeff
I'm not sure what you see as circular in that definition. "The act of measuring depth of water" looks pretty straightforward to me.
As the "S" in SONAR stands for "sound" - no, I wouldn't call it a coincidence.
If I understand the question correctly, you want to know if the origin of the verb “to sound†in the sense of measuring depth, and the noun “sound†as in SONAR are related. According to the American Heritage dictionary etymologies, they are distinct, and have distinct entries.
Sound (1) Vibrations … . comes from Middle English “soun†from Old French “son†from Latin “sonusâ€
Sound (4) To measure … . comes from Middle English “sounden†from Old French “sonder†from “sondeâ€, probably from Germanic origin.
As for the seeming “circular†definition, it is probably just a limitation of translation. There was a thing called “sonde†that was used to measure depth. The best translation for that thing is a “sounding line.â€