speaker English · revision 4955

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1303|origins=en speak, en -er}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈspiːkə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈspikɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|speker]], an agent noun formed from [[speak]] and [[-er]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) Old Frisian spreker and German Sprecher are similar formations.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One who speaks or talks: 1303 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Qualified by an adjective, as an evil or a fair speaker, it is from before 1340.^(OED 1989) One who speaks formally to an audience is from about 1400,^(OED 1989) 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;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) the title was later used in other assemblies, such as the United States House of Representatives.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) One who speaks for others is from 1583.^(OED 1989) The electric loudspeaker is called a speaker from 1926,^(Etymonline) and a ''speakerphone'' is by 1955.^(Etymonline) In Dorset dialect a speaker was a long pole for carrying a bundle.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1303 – one who speaks.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – a public speaker; the Speaker of the House of Commons.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1583 – a spokesman.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1926 – a loudspeaker.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who speaks, especially one who gives a [[speech]] in public.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person who speaks a particular language: ''a speaker of French''.^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(often Speaker)'' The person who presides over a [[legislature]] such as the House of Commons.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[loudspeaker]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[speakership]]

+ * [[nonspeaker]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[speak]]

+ * [[speech]]

+ * [[spokesman]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}