[SOUND sb.3]
1. Mus. (See quots. 1883, 1888.)
1611. Cotgr., Les ouyes d’vne Violle, the sound-holes of the Violl.
1874. W. Chappell, Hist. Music, I. xii. 298. The bridge, the tail-piece, and the sound-holes, are ancient Egyptian.
1883. Grove’s Dict. Mus., III. 640/1. Soundholes or f-Holes, two curvilinear openings in the belly of a stringed instrument, one on each side of the bridge.
1888. Encycl. Brit., XXIV. 246/1. Such sound-holes … have the property of immediately letting out the vibrations of the small mass of air which lies directly under the bridge.
2. Arch. (See quot. 1848.)
1848. Rickman, Styles Archit., 152. The openings [in belfries] filled with tracery, but not glazed, which are found in some districts, especially in Norfolk, and there commonly called sound-holes.
1905. Athenæum, 23 Sept., 408/1. Wrentham has a singularly fine tower, with good ‘sound-holes’ … uncommon in Suffolk.
