anti-noise
|an-ti-noise|
/ˌæn.tiˈnɔɪz/
sound that cancels noise
Etymology
'anti-noise' originates from English, combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti') meaning 'against' and the noun 'noise' (from Old French 'noise') meaning 'disturbance' or 'harmful sound'.
'anti-' comes from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against' and entered English as a productive prefix; 'noise' came into Middle English as 'noyse' from Old French 'noise' (originally meaning 'dispute' or 'disturbance') and later acquired the modern sense of 'unwanted sound'. The compound 'anti-noise' emerged in modern technical contexts (20th century) with the development of active noise control.
Initially, the elements meant 'against' and 'disturbance'; over time they combined in technical usage to mean 'a sound or signal produced to oppose unwanted sound', the modern technical sense of 'anti-noise'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a sound or signal produced to cancel or reduce unwanted noise, often by destructive interference or active noise-control systems.
The headphones emit an anti-noise that cancels the hum of the airplane engines.
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Adjective 1
designed to produce or relate to sounds/signals that cancel unwanted noise (used before nouns).
They installed an anti-noise system in the ventilation ducts.
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Last updated: 2025/11/09 10:55