Voice

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /vɔɪs/

Definitions

1. The distinctive sound a person makes when speaking or singing, or the ability to express opinions and ideas
2. The sound produced by humans when articulating words or melodies, as well as the capacity to convey thoughts and emotions through auditory means
3. Sound emitted during speech or singing, along with the power to communicate personal views and feelings

Etymology: The word arrived in English from Anglo-Norman "voiz" and Old French "vois", descendants of Latin "vōcem", the accusative form of "vōx". English already had its own words for the sound of speaking, such as "steven", "hlēoþor", "woþ" and "reord", and "voice" gradually displaced them, so the Old English vocabulary for speech largely disappeared in favour of this Latin-derived one. The Latin root has a surprising set of relatives. The same stem gave English "vocal", "vowel", "vouch" and "advocate", and even "avouch" and "convoke", all of which turn on the idea of calling out or speaking up. A vowel is, in a sense, the open sound of the voice itself, while to vouch for someone is to call them forth as a witness. The word also has a doublet, "vox", which English took directly from Latin and kept as a more technical term.

Synonyms: speech, tone, vocalization, sound, utterance

Antonyms: silence, mute, quiet, hush, stillness