PERCUSSION

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French percussioun, from Latin ~-, percussio, from percutere to beat, from per- thoroughly + quatere to shake Date: 15th century the act of percussing: as, the striking of a ~ cap so as to set off the charge in a firearm, the beating or striking of a musical instrument, the act or technique of tapping the surface of a body part to learn the condition of the parts beneath by the resultant sound, the striking of sound on the ear, ~ instruments that form a section of a band or orchestra, ~ adjective