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elocution

[el-uh-kyoo-shuh n]
See more synonyms for elocution on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person's manner of speaking or reading aloud in public: The actor's elocution is faultless.
  2. the study and practice of oral delivery, including the control of both voice and gesture.

Origin of elocution

1500–10; < Latin ēlocūtiōn- (stem of ēlocūtiō) a speaking out, equivalent to ē- e-1 + locūtiōn- locution
Related formsel·o·cu·tion·ar·y [el-uh-kyoo-shuh-ner-ee] /ˌɛl əˈkyu ʃəˌnɛr i/, adjectiveel·o·cu·tion·ist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for elocutionist

spokesman, spokesperson, lecturer, speechmaker, announcer, rhetorician, mouthpiece, orator, elocutionist, reciter, lector, monologist, scholar, anthology, bookworm, primer, proofreader, editor, speechifier, mouth

Examples from the Web for elocutionist

Historical Examples of elocutionist

  • Miss Brown, the elocutionist, ranks as one of the finest in the country.

  • "Wal, I don't profess to be any elocutionist," Salters said.

    "Captains Courageous"

    Rudyard Kipling

  • A woman with stringy hair and an elocutionist's mouth, grew dramatic as he passed.

    Erik Dorn

    Ben Hecht

  • Miss Carrie was an elocutionist and had even recited on the stage.

    Emmy Lou

    George Madden Martin

  • When I was a girl, I could 'a' been quite an elocutionist if I could 'a' had lessons.

British Dictionary definitions for elocutionist

elocution

noun
  1. the art of public speaking, esp of voice production, delivery, and gesture
Derived Formselocutionary, adjectiveelocutionist, noun

Word Origin for elocution

C15: from Latin ēlocūtiō a speaking out, from ēloquī, 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
Word Origin and History for elocutionist

elocution

n.

mid-15c., from Late Latin elocutionem (nominative elocutio) "voice production, manner of expression," in classical Latin, "oratorical expression," noun of action from past participle stem of eloqui "speak out" (see eloquence).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper