Crossword Dictionary
sonorous
Characterized by a full and loud sound
Synonyms
booming, deep-voiced, full-voiced, orotund, resounding, reverberating, rich, thundering
About
Used to describe sound or speech that is full, rich, and deep, sonorous is a great word for snoring, for bass voices, and for low notes on the tuba.
Skip the first "o" and you'll see snore inside this word, which should give you a clue as to its deeply resonant character. Another way to remember sonorous is that son sounds like "sound," and that's what this word is all about.
Etymology
1610s, from Latin sonorus "resounding," from sonor "sound, noise," from sonare "to sound, make a noise" (from PIE root *swen- "to sound"). Related: Sonorously; sonorousness. Earlier was sonouse (c. 1500), from Medieval Latin sonosus; sonourse "having a pleasing voice" (c. 1400), from sonor + -y (2).