percuss
/pɚˈkʌs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "Solid bodies, if they be very softly percussed, give no sound."
- "Give me thy hand Gonzalo, thou art in our favour, / For we do love to cheriſh lofty ſpirits, / Such as percuſſe the Earth, and bound / With an erected countenance to the clouds."
- "Falling on the roof of the caravan, the hailstones percussed noisily."
- "The doctor percussed his chest to determine whether he had pneumonia."
- "Percussing a patient's spleen is best done while he is on his back."
- "As you percuss the kidneys, check for pain or tenderness, behind other organs which suggests a kidney infection. Remember to percuss both sides of the body to assess both kidneys."
Etymology
From Latin percussus, past participle of percutiō (“to strike, to beat”), from per (“through”) + quatiō (“to shake, to strike”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: percussus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /pɚˈkʌs/
- British English: /pəˈkʌs/