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speaker

Etymology and origin of the English word speaker

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1303
From
Middle English speker
Ultimate origin
English (speak,-er)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈspiːkə/ (UK); /ˈspikɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English speker, an agent noun formed from speak and -er.[2][3][4] Old Frisian spreker and German Sprecher are similar formations.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who speaks or talks: 1303 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Qualified by an adjective, as an evil or a fair speaker, it is from before 1340.[5] One who speaks formally to an audience is from about 1400,[5] and the member of the House of Commons chosen to preside over it is from about 1400, from a similar use in Anglo-French in the late 14th century;[2][5] the title was later used in other assemblies, such as the United States House of Representatives.[2][5] One who speaks for others is from 1583.[5] The electric loudspeaker is called a speaker from 1926,[2] and a speakerphone is by 1955.[2] In Dorset dialect a speaker was a long pole for carrying a bundle.[6]

Timeline

  • 1303 – one who speaks.[5]
  • c. 1400 – a public speaker; the Speaker of the House of Commons.[5]
  • 1583 – a spokesman.[5]
  • 1926 – a loudspeaker.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who speaks, especially one who gives a speech in public.
  2. A person who speaks a particular language: a speaker of French.
  3. (often Speaker) The person who presides over a legislature such as the House of Commons.
  4. A loudspeaker.

Word family

  • speakership
  • nonspeaker

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  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
  6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
Cite this entry

“Speaker.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/speaker. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·