Etymologically
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vocal

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈvəʊ̯.kəl/ (UK); /ˈvoʊ̯.kəl/, /ˈvɔʊ̯.kəl/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French vocal and directly borrowed from Latin vocalis (“sounding, speaking; as a noun, a vowel”),[2][3][4] from vox (“voice”) (genitive vocis) (see voice),[3][5] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- (“to speak”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of prayer, spoken, as opposed to mental: before 1395 in the OED, before 1396 in Barnhart.[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Hoad notes the word was rare before the 16th century.[5] Of music performed by the voice, as opposed to instrumental, it is from the 1580s.[3][6] Having a voice is from 1601, expressive or eloquent from 1608, and belonging to the voice from 1644.[2] Full of sound is in Milton's Paradise Lost (1667),[2] and in phonetics, voiced, from 1688.[2] Outspoken, making oneself heard, is attested by 1871,[3] and vocal cords from 1872.[3] NODE dates the current senses of the noun, a sung part in popular music, from the 1920s.[7]

Timeline

  • before 1395 – of spoken prayer.[6]
  • 1580s – of vocal music.[3]
  • 1601 – having a voice.[2]
  • 1871 – outspoken.[3]
  • 1872 – vocal cords.[3]
  • 1920s – a sung part (noun).[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to or produced by the human voice.
  2. Expressing opinions freely and forcefully; outspoken.

Noun

  1. (often plural) The sung part of a piece of popular music.

Word family

  • vocally
  • vocalness
  • vocality
  • vocoid
  • vocalism
  • vocalist
  • vocalize
  • vocalise

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press