orator
Americannoun
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a person who delivers an oration; a public speaker, especially one of great eloquence.
Demosthenes was one of the great orators of ancient Greece.
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Law. a plaintiff in a case in a court of equity.
noun
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a public speaker, esp one versed in rhetoric
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a person given to lengthy or pompous speeches
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obsolete the claimant in a cause of action in chancery
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of orator
1325–75; < Latin ōrātor speaker, suppliant, equivalent to ōrā ( re ) ( see oration) + -tor -tor; replacing Middle English oratour < Anglo-French < Latin, as above
Explanation
A person giving a speech is called an orator, like the gifted orator who raised excellent points, making everyone in the audience want to join his revolution. The noun orator traces back to the Latin word orare, meaning to “speak before a court or assembly, plead.” Orator is really just a formal way of saying “speaker.” Technically, you can use it to describe anyone who is giving a speech, whether it’s a speaker at the United Nations or a classmate giving a short presentation. However, orator often implies that the speaker is particularly gifted.
Vocabulary lists containing orator
100 Top "SAT" Words
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Ancient Greece - Introductory
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"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave" Vocabulary from the autobiography
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bryan, known as the Boy Orator of the Platte, represented neighboring Nebraska in Congress.
From Washington Post • Apr. 1, 2019
There's a 1936 clipping, under the heading "Boy is Political Orator," showing a photo of Pete at 10, stealing the show with a speech at a Democratic rally to re-elect FDR as president.
From Golf Digest • Oct. 23, 2018
A final apotheosis, three months before he died, for his service as Grand Orator to the Patriarch of Constantinople, was a descent by helicopter on the Holy Mountain of Athos.
From Economist • Sep. 8, 2016
Barack Obama used to be called the World’s Greatest Orator, and two weeks ago we got a reminder of why.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 7, 2015
They are discussed in Book 5 of Quintilian’s Institutes of the Orator, a work which dates to the first century CE.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
