allocution

[al-uh-kyoo-shuh n]

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noun

a formal speech, especially one of an incontrovertible or hortatory nature.

a pronouncement delivered by the pope to a secret consistory, especially on a matter of policy or of general importance.

Origin of allocution

1605–15; < Latin allocūtiōn- (stem of allocūtiō), equivalent to allocūt(us), past participle of alloquī to speak to, address (al- al- + locū- speak + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for allocution

speech, oration, address, lecture, lesson, talk, prelection

Examples from the Web for allocution

Historical Examples of allocution

To this allocution the parliament replied with all servility.
History of the Rise of the Huguenots
Henry Baird
After that allocution, no one, not even a sub-lieutenant, had the courage to empty his glass.
El Verdugo
Honore de Balzac
This allocution, pronounced by advocate Desmarais with every appearance of great tenderness, moved the people.
The Sword of Honor, volumes 1 & 2
Eugne Sue
He began with an allocution pitched in a tone that would have justified revolt throughout empires.
A Diversity of Creatures
Rudyard Kipling
What the effect of this allocution would have been, unsupported by favouring circumstances, it is difficult to say.
Count Frontenac
William Dawson LeSueur

British Dictionary definitions for allocution

allocution

noun

rhetoric a formal or authoritative speech or address, esp one that advises, informs, or exhorts

Word Origin for allocution

C17: from Late Latin allocūtiō, from Latin alloquī to address, from loquī to speak

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012