# loud

> English word · Adjective · IPA /laʊd/ · frequency rank #2,841

## Definitions
1. Of great intensity.
2. Noisy.
3. Not subtle or reserved, brash.
4. Having unpleasantly and tastelessly contrasting colours or patterns; gaudy.
5. High-quality; premium; (by extension) having a strong or pungent odour indicating good quality.

## Etymology
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, 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”).

## Easily confused with
- **lu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lu)
- **low** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-low)
- **LSU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lsu)
- **lux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lux)
- **LSD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lsd)
- **lug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lug)
- **luv** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-luv)
- **luz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-luz)
- **Lui** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lui)
- **Luo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-luo)
- **Lua** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lua)
- **lun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lun)
- **lox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lox)
- **loy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-loy)
- **Luk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-luk)
- **lul** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lul)
- **lum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lum)
- **love** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-love)
- **lowe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lowe)
- **Lund** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loud-vs-lund)

## Common misspellings (5)
`lloud`, `lodu`, `loudd`, `luod`, `olud`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/loud