echo-free
|ech-o-free|
🇺🇸
/ˈɛkoʊˌfriː/
🇬🇧
/ˈɛkəʊˌfriː/
without echo
Etymology
'echo-free' originates from a compound of the English words 'echo' and 'free'. 'echo' ultimately originates from Greek, specifically the word 'ēkhō' (ἠχώ), where the root referred to the sound of a reflected voice; 'free' originates from Old English 'frēo', meaning 'not captive' or 'not restricted'.
'echo' passed from Greek 'ēkhō' into Latin and then into Middle English as 'echo' and retained the sense of reflected sound; 'free' developed from Old English 'frēo' into Middle English 'free' and modern 'free'. The compound 'echo-free' arose in modern English (20th century onward) as a technical/descriptive formation combining those elements.
Initially, 'echo' referred specifically to the reflected sound phenomenon and 'free' to the state of being without constraint; combined, they evolved into the modern descriptive sense 'not affected by echo' used in acoustics and audio/telecom contexts.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not producing or affected by echoes; having negligible reflected sound (used of rooms or spaces).
The choir practiced in an echo-free chamber to get a precise sense of their dynamics.
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Adjective 2
free from audible echo or echo artifacts in sound transmission or recording (used in telecommunications, audio engineering).
After updating the codec, calls became virtually echo-free.
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Last updated: 2025/08/23 10:53