pronounce

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English pronouncen, also pronuncen and prononce,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman pronuncier, also pronouncer,^[5][6] and Old French prononcier,^[7][3][4] now prononcer,^[5][8] and partly directly from Latin prōnūntiō (“to proclaim, announce; to utter”).^[5][7][3] The Anglo-Norman verb is recorded from the early 12th century, already meaning to utter, to proclaim and to pronounce a judgement.^[6][5] The Latin verb is formed from prō- (“forth, out, in public”) and nūntiō (“to announce”),^[9][7][10] from nūntius (“messenger”),^[9][7][11] which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *neu- (“to shout”).^[7] The same Latin verb gave pronunciar and pronunziare.^[5] From the same simple verb with other prefixes, English also has announce, denounce and renounce.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make a formal or authoritative statement, to declare a ruling or judgement: about 1384, in the early version of the Wycliffite Bible.^[5] Barnhart dates the sense "declare, decree" from before 1338, in Robert Mannyng's Chronicle,^[3][12] a text the OED cites from a manuscript of about 1400.^[5]

Semantic evolution

From the start the verb had both its legal and official sense, to declare or proclaim, and the sense of speaking words aloud, both already present in Anglo-Norman.^[6][2] The sense "to utter, articulate (words)" is recorded in English before 1393, in Gower's Confessio Amantis,^[5][3][7] and Chaucer and Gower each use the verb a handful of times.^[13] The specific sense of saying a word or letter in a particular way, as in teaching how to pronounce French, is recorded from about 1533,^[5] though Etymonline dates this use from the 1610s.^[7] In the 17th century it could also mean "to signify" (1610–28) or "to show, make evident" (1615–1845), senses now obsolete.^[5] Johnson (1755) listed "to speak; to utter" first and "to utter solemnly" second.^[14] The participle pronounced took on the sense "strongly marked, decided" in the 18th century,^[3] and the reflexive pronounce oneself, to declare one's opinion, appears in 1801.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1338 – pronuncen, to declare, decree, in Mannyng's Chronicle.^[3]
• c. 1384 – to make an authoritative statement; to declare (a person or thing) to be something.^[5]
• c. 1390 – to proclaim, announce.^[5]
• before 1393 – to utter or articulate words.^[5][3]
• c. 1533 – to sound a word or letter in a particular way.^[5]
• 1570 – to declare as one's opinion, with a clause.^[5]
• 1593 – the noun pronouncement.^[3]
• 1801 – reflexive, to declare oneself.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make the sound of a word or speech sound; to articulate: She could not pronounce the name of the village.^[9][15][4]
2. To say a word clearly, correctly or in a particular way: He pronounces the final consonant softly.^[9][15]
3. To show the pronunciation of a word in phonetic symbols.^[9]
4. To declare officially or solemnly: I now pronounce you man and wife.^[15][4][9]
5. To deliver a judgement, sentence or opinion formally: The judge will pronounce sentence tomorrow.^[4][15][5]
6. To state an opinion or judgement on something: The committee has yet to pronounce on the proposal.^[15][5]

Word family

• pronounceable
• pronouncer
• pronounceability
• pronounceableness
• mispronounce
• overpronounce
• self-pronouncing
• unpronouncing

Related words

• pronouncement
• pronunciation
• announce
• denounce
• renounce
• annunciation
• nuncio

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
7. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
12. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
13. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
14. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
15. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins