Toastmasters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Members of Toastmasters International, a club where people practice public speaking ; those who propose or offer toasts at celebrations and formal dinners
2. Participants in a organization that trains members to speak confidently in front of audiences ; individuals who make toasts or honor guests at gatherings and banquets
3. People belonging to a global public speaking club that builds communication skills ; those who deliver the toasts at weddings, dinners and other festive occasions

Etymology: The "toastmasters" in question is the plural of "toastmaster," a person who proposes or announces toasts at a formal dinner, and who later gave its name to the speech clubs that now bear it. The old sense is the more literal one: "toast" here refers to the ritual of drinking to someone's health, honour or success, and the toastmaster was the officer who called these toasts and kept the proceedings in order. The compound is built from two plain English words. "Toast" in this sense comes from the practice of flavouring a drink with a piece of spiced, toasted bread, and it came to mean the drinking ceremony itself, and then the words spoken over the glass. "Master" is the familiar word for someone in charge, so a toastmaster is simply the person in charge of the toasts.

Synonyms: emcee, master of ceremonies, host