orator

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɒ.ɹə.tə(ɹ)/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English oratour, borrowed from Anglo-Norman oratour,^[2][3] and directly from Latin ōrātor (“speaker; pleader”),^[2][3][4] from ōrāre “to speak before a court or assembly, to plead, to pray”.^[2][3][4] Weekley and de Vaan relate ōrāre to ōs “mouth”, whereas others connect it with a Proto-Indo-European root *or- “to pronounce a ritual formula”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who pleads or argues for a person or cause; an advocate or spokesman (c. 1374), a sense now obsolete.^[5][2][3]

Semantic evolution

In late Middle English an orator was also one who offers a prayer or petition (1433), a sense used in signing letters to a superior.^[5][4] The general sense of a public speaker, especially an eloquent one, dates from about 1430.^[5][3] At Oxford and Cambridge the Public Orator speaks on behalf of the university on ceremonial occasions (1614).^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1374 – an advocate, a spokesman.^[5][3]
• 1433 – a petitioner.^[5]
• c. 1430 – a public speaker.^[5][3]
• 1494 – an envoy (obsolete).^[5]
• 1614 – Public Orator.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who delivers an oration; a public speaker.
2. An eloquent and skilled public speaker.
3. (law) A plaintiff in a court of equity.

Word family

• oratorship
• oratorlike
• oratory

Related words

• oration
• oracle
• oral
• adore

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press