rhetorician

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English rethoricien,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Middle French rethoricien (“expert in rhetoric, teacher of rhetoric”), recorded in French from about 1370 and now French rhétoricien.^[5][6][7] Etymonline, the Shorter Oxford and the Middle English Dictionary call the source Old French instead.^[3][8][2] The French noun is formed from rethorique (“rhetoric”) and -ien.^[5][6][7] Rhetoric goes back through Latin rhētoricē to Ancient Greek ῥητορική (rhētorikḗ, “the art of public speaking”), from ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr, “public speaker”),^[5] which is built on a variant of the base of ἐρέω (eréō, “I shall say”).^[5] Etymonline traces the Greek noun further to Proto-Indo-European *were- (“to speak”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A teacher of rhetoric or professional orator, and also a master of literary eloquence: both senses appear about 1425 in Lydgate's Troy Book.^[5][2] Etymonline likewise dates the word to the early 15th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word first named a specialist, especially an ancient one, and the Middle English Dictionary notes that it often referred to Cicero.^[2] The praising sense "master of literary eloquence" died out as a separate use by about 1600.^[5] From 1561 the word was applied to anyone who spoke in the manner of orators, often with disapproval of a speaker whose language was artificial or extravagant.^[5][8] This followed the older suspicion of rhetoric itself, which Etymonline says had suggested artificial oratory since classical times.^[3] Johnson (1755) defined it as one who teaches the science of rhetoric, and quoted Baker's remark that a man may be "a very good rhetorician, and yet at the same time a mean orator".^[9] From 1676 it also named a pupil in the Rhetoric class of some English Roman Catholic schools, especially Stonyhurst.^[5][8] Etymonline notes that one Old English word for such a person was wordsawere (“word-sower”).^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1425 – a teacher of rhetoric, a professional orator; a master of literary eloquence, in Lydgate.^[5][2]
• 1561 – a person who speaks in the manner of orators, especially with artificial or extravagant language.^[5]
• 1676 – a pupil in the Rhetoric class of an English Roman Catholic school.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A master or teacher of rhetoric, especially in ancient Greece and Rome.^[6][10][5]
2. A stylish or eloquent writer or speaker; an orator.^[10][6]
3. A speaker whose language is pompous, artificial or extravagant.^[10][8][5]
4. (capitalised) In some English Roman Catholic schools, a pupil in the Rhetoric class.^[5][8]

Related words

• rhetor
• rhetoric
• rhetorical
• word
• verb

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins