to rap gently and firmly, as in medical diagnosis
Origin of percussfrom Classical Latin percussus, past participle of percutere, to strike from per-, per- + quatere, to shake: see quash
transitive verbper·cussed, per·cuss·ing, per·cuss·es
To strike or tap firmly, as in medical percussion: The doctor percussed the patient's chest.
Origin of percussLatin percutere percuss- to strike hard per- per- quatere to strike ; see kwēt- in Indo-European roots.
(third-person singular simple present percusses, present participle percussing, simple past and past participle percussed)
- To strike; to hit; to knock; to deliver a blow to.
- Solid bodies, if they be very softly percussed, give no sound.
- (intransitive) To impact.
- Falling on the roof of the caravan, the hailstones percussed noisily.
- (chiefly medicine) To attempt to divine the location or other quality of something by tapping on (an overlying surface).
- The doctor percussed his chest to determine whether he had pneumonia.
- (chiefly medicine) To attempt to divine the location or other quality of (something) by tapping on an overlying surface.
- Percussing a patient's spleen is best done while he is on his back.