utterance

English

Alternative forms

• utteraunce

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈʌt.ə(ɹ).əns/, X-SAMPA: /"Vt.@r\.@ns/

• Audio (US)

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Etymology 1

From utter +‎ -ance

Noun

utterance (plural utterances)

1. An act of uttering.
2. Something spoken.
   • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 237a.

     To know how one should express oneself in saying or judging that there really are falsehoods without getting caught up in contradiction by such an utterance: that's extremely difficult, Theaetetus.

3. The ability to speak.
4. Manner of speaking.

Quotations

• Mathematics and Poetry are... the utterance of the same power of imagination, only that in the one case it is addressed to the head, in the other, to the heart. — Thomas Hill

Related terms

• utter
• utterable
• utterer

Translations

an act of uttering

• Catalan: articulació (ca) f, expressió (ca) f, pronunciació (ca) f
• Czech: prohlášení (cs) n, vyjádření (cs) n, vyřčení (cs) n
• Dutch: uiting (nl) f, taaluiting (nl) f
• French: émission sonore (fr) f, articulation (fr) f, prononciation (fr) f, expression (fr) f
• Georgian: გამოთქმა (ka) (gamot’k’ma), წარმოთქმა (ka) (carmot’k’ma)
• German: Äußerung (de) f

• Latin: eloquium (la), significatio (la)
• Portuguese: expressão (pt) f
• Romanian: vorbi (ro)
• Spanish: expresión (es) f, articulación (es) f, pronunciación (es) f
• Turkish: söyleme (tr)

something spoken

• Catalan: discurs (ca) m, enunciat (ca) m
• Czech: prohlášení (cs) n, vyjádření (cs) n, výrok (cs) n
• French: énoncé (fr) m, propos (fr) m, parole (fr) f, déclaration (fr) f
• Georgian: თქმული (ka) (t’k’muli), ნათქვამი (ka) (nat’k’vami)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: وته‌ (ku) (wite)

• Latin: eloquium (la)
• Polish: wypowiedź (pl) f
• Portuguese: enunciado (pt) m
• Spanish: enunciado (es) m, discurso (es) m
• Turkish: konuşma (tr)

ability to speak

• Catalan: eloqüència (ca) f
• German: Sprechfähigkeit (de) f, Sprachvermögen (de) n
• Latin: eloquium (la)

• Romanian: vorbire (ro)
• Spanish: elocuencia (es) f

manner of speaking

• Catalan: parla (ca) f
• German: Aussprache (de) f
• Latin: eloquium (la)

• Spanish: habla (es) f
• Turkish: ifâde (tr), söyleyiş (tr), telaffuz (tr)

Etymology 2

From Old French oultrance.

Noun

utterance (plural utterances)

1. (now literary) The utmost extremity (of a fight etc.).
   • 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book X:

     For I woll have ado wyth the to the uttraunce, for the noble knyghtes and ladyes that thou haste betrayde.

External links

• utterance in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• utterance at OneLook Dictionary Search