Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SO-NO'ROUS, a. [L. sonorus, from sonus, sound.]

1. Giving sound when struck. Metals are sonorous bodies.
2. Loud sounding; giving a clear or loud sound; as, a sonorous voice.
3. Yielding sound; as, the vowels are sonorous. – Dryden.
4. High sounding; magnificent of sound. The Italian opera, amidst all the meanness and familiarity of the thoughts, has something beautiful and sonorous in the expression. – Addison.