echolocation

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The use of echoes to detect objects as observed in bats and other natural creatures.

   Since there is no convenient term available to describe this process of locating obstacles by means of echoes, I suggest the word echolocation[…]. The meaning of this word, and a corresponding verb to echolocate, are likely to be clear when first heard or read, since they are formed simply by joining echo and locate. It seems best to accent the first syllable in order to make clear that the word echo is employed.

2. 2
   noun

   determining the location of something by measuring the time it takes for an echo to return from it

Etymology

Coined by American zoologist Donald Griffin in 1944, from echo- + location.