rhetoric

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈret.ər.ɪk/, US /ˈret̬.ɚ.ɪk/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English rethorike, borrowed from Old French rethorique (modern French rhétorique) and directly Latin rhētoricē,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek ῥητορική (rhētorikḗ), short for “the art of an orator”,^[2][3][5] from ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr, “speaker, orator”),^[2][3] ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *were- (“to speak”) (see word and verb).^[2][3] The spelling with rh- imitates Latin and is first recorded about 1475.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The art of using language to persuade or influence others: about 1330, as Rettorike, in Barnhart; the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

Since classical times the word has suggested artificial or showy oratory, as opposed to natural speech.^[3] Speech or writing meant to persuade, often in an unfavourable sense, is from about 1386,^[6] mastery of literary eloquence from 1395,^[2] and rhetorics, rhetorical flourishes, from 1426.^[6] A treatise on the art is from 1565,^[6] one of the top classes in certain English Roman Catholic schools from 1599,^[6] and prose composition as a school exercise from 1828.^[6] An older rhetoric, from before 1350, meant a rhetorician.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1330 – the art of persuasion.^[2]
• c. 1386 – persuasive speech.^[6]
• 1395 – literary eloquence.^[2]
• 1426 – rhetorical flourishes.^[6]
• c. 1475 – the spelling rhetoric.^[2]
• 1565 – a treatise on rhetoric.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The art or study of using language effectively and persuasively.
2. Skill in using language persuasively; oratory.
3. Showy, overelaborate language; bombast.
4. Speech that sounds important but lacks real meaning: mere rhetoric.
5. A book or treatise on this art.

Word family

• rhetorical
• rhetorician

Related words

• word
• verb

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press