different between percussion vs semantron

English

Etymology

From Middle French, Old French percussion, from Latin percussi? (“striking”), from percuti? (“I strike”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /p??k???n/
• Rhymes: -???n

Noun

percussion (countable and uncountable, plural percussions)

1. (countable) The collision of two bodies in order to produce a sound.
2. (countable) The sound so produced.
3. (countable) The detonation of a percussion cap in a firearm.
4. (medicine) The tapping of the body as an aid to medical diagnosis.
5. (music) The section of an orchestra or band containing percussion instruments; such instruments considered as a group; in bands, may be separate from drum kits.
6. (engineering) The repeated striking of an object to break or shape it, as in percussion drilling.
7. (palmistry) The outer side of the hand.

Derived terms

Related terms

• quash

Translations

Anagrams

• coin purses, croupiness, supersonic

French

Etymology

From Latin percussi?.

Noun

percussion f (plural percussions)

1. percussion (tapping of the body)
2. (music) percussion

Further reading

• “percussion” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ????????? (s?mantron, “a seal, signet, in MGr. a semantron”), from ????????? (s?maínein, “to show by a sign, signify, in MGr. strike a semantron”), from ???? (sêma, “mark, sign”).

Noun

semantron (plural semantrons or semantra)

1. A percussion instrument used chiefly in Eastern Orthodox monasteries to summon the brethren to prayer or to lead processions.

Related terms

• sematic

Further reading

• semantron in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Ornaments, ornaments