Etymologically
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rhetoric

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 15:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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