voice

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Voice

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[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

Middle English vois, from Anglo-Norman voiz, voys, voice from Old French vois, voiz (Modern French voix), from Latin vōcem, accusative form of Latin vōx, from Proto-Indo-European *wek-, wekw- (“‘to utter, speak’”). Akin to Sanskrit वच् (to say, to speak), German erwähnen (to mention). Replaced Middle English steven, stefne "voice" from Old English stefn (see steven), Middle English rouste "voice" from Old Norse raust, and Middle English rearde "voice" from Old English reord. Compare advocate, advowson, avouch, convoke, epic, vocal, vouch, vowel.

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /vɔɪs/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Rhymes: -ɔɪs

[edit] Noun

voice (plural voices)

1. Sound uttered by the mouth, especially that uttered by human beings in speech or song; steven; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character; as, the human voice; a pleasant voice; a low voice.

   • He with a manly voice saith his message. — Geoffrey Chaucer
   • Her voice was ever soft, Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in woman. — Shakespeare, King Lear, V-iii
   • Thy voice is music. — Shakespeare, Henry V, V-ii
   • Join thy voice unto the angel choir. — John Milton

2. (phonetics) Sound of the kind or quality heard in speech or song in the consonants b, v, d, etc., and in the vowels; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; — distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in f, s, sh, etc., and also whisper.
3. The tone or sound emitted by anything

   • After the fire a still small voice. — 1 Kings 19:12
   • Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? — Job 40:9
   • The floods have lifted up their voice. — Psalms 93:3
   • O Marcus, I am warm’d; my heart Leaps at the trumpet’s voice. — Joseph Addison

4. The faculty or power of utterance; as, to cultivate the voice
5. Language; words; speech; expression; signification of feeling or opinion

   • I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you. — Galatians 4:20
   • My voice is in my sword. — Shakespeare, Macbeth, V-vii
   • Let us call on God in the voice of his church. — Bp. Fell

6. Opinion or choice expressed; judgment; a vote.

   • Sicinius. How now, my masters! have you chose this man? / 1st Citizen. He has our voices, sir. — Shakespeare, Coriolanus, II-iii
   • Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice / Of holy senates, and elect by voice. — John Dryden

7. Command; precept; — now chiefly used in scriptural language.

   • So shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God. — Deuteronomy 8:20

8. One who speaks; a speaker.

   • A potent voice of Parliament. — Alfred Tennyson

9. (grammar) A particular mode of inflecting or conjugating verbs, or a particular form of a verb, by means of which is indicated the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses.

[edit] Translations

[edit] Derived terms

• voice of the toothless one
• active voice
• chest voice
• head voice
• middle voice
• passive voice
• voice glide
• voiced stop
• With one voice, unanimously.

  • All with one voice . . . cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. — Acts 19:34

[edit] Verb

to voice (third-person singular simple present voices, present participle voicing, simple past and past participle voiced)

1. (transitive) To give utterance or expression to; to utter; to publish; to announce; to divulge; as, to voice the sentiments of the nation.

   • Rather assume thy right in silence and . . . then voice it with claims and challenges. — Francis Bacon
   • It was voiced that the king purposed to put to death Edward Plantagenet. — Francis Bacon

2. (transitive, phonology) To utter with sonant or vocal tone; to pronounce with a narrowed glottis and rapid vibrations of the vocal cords; to speak above a whisper.
3. (transitive) To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of; as, to voice the pipes of an organ.
4. (transitive, obsolete) To vote; to elect; to appoint — Shakespeare
5. (intransitive, obsolete) To clamor; to cry out, to steven — South

[edit] Translations

[edit] Related terms

• vocable
• vocabulary
• vocal
• vocalization
• vocalize
• vocation