FromMiddle Englishvoice,voys,vois, borrowed fromAnglo-Normanvoiz,voys,voice,Old Frenchvois,voiz (ModernFrenchvoix), fromLatinvōcem, accusative form ofvōx(“voice”), fromProto-Indo-European*wṓkʷs,root noun from*wekʷ-(“to utter, speak”). Cognate withSanskritवाच्(vāc),Ancient Greekὄψ(óps),Persianآواز(âvâz). Displaced nativeMiddle Englishsteven(“voice”) (fromOld Englishstefn (seesteven)),Old Englishhlēoþor,Old Englishwoþ, andOld Englishreord. Compareadvocate,advowson,avouch,convoke,vocal,vouch,vowel.Doublet ofvox.
voice (pluralvoices)
- Sounduttered by the mouth, especially by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character
The humanvoice is the oldest musical instrument in history.
Stop repeating in that stupidvoice what I say.
His lowvoice allowed him to become a bass in the choir.
c.1603–1606,William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act V, scene iii],page309, column 1:Hervoice was euer ſoft,
Gentle, and low, an excellent thing in woman.
1629,John Milton, “On the Morning of Christs Nativity”, inPoems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth forHumphrey Mosely, […], published1646,→OCLC,page 2:And joyn thyvoice unto the Angel Quire,
2011 April 10, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle”, inBBC Sport[1]:Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner had backed manager Houllier during the week and asked for the fans to get behind their team as they looked to steer themselves away from the relegation zone.
To that end, the home supporters were in goodvoice to begin with, but it was Newcastle who started the game in the ascendancy, with Barton putting a diving header over the top from Jose Enrique's cross.
- (phonetics) Sound made through vibration of the vocal cords;sonant, orintonated, utterance; tone; — distinguished from merebreath sound as heard in whispering and voiceless consonants.
- Thetone orsoundemitted by anobject
- The faculty or power of utterance
to cultivate thevoice
- That which iscommunicated;message;meaning.
c.1606 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act V, scene vii]:Myvoice is in my sword.
- 17th century,John Fell, unknown work
- Let us call on God in thevoice of his church.
- (figurative) Anexpressedopinion,choice,will,desire, orwish; theright orability tomake suchexpression or tohave itconsidered
c.1608–1609 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act II, scene iii]:Sicinius. How now, my masters! have you chose this man? /1st Citizen. He has ourvoices, sir.
1697,Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, inJohn Dryden, transl.,The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […],→OCLC:Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice / Of holy senates, and elect byvoice.
2019 March 24, Helen Regan, Kocha Olarn, “Thailand's youth demand change ahead of elections”, inCNN[2], retrieved24 March 2019:Like many of the 7 million other first time voters, she came of age during half a decade of military rule that has governed the country since former general turned Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power in a 2014 coup. "We have had ourvoice taken away for five years," she says.
- (archaic)Command;precept.
- One who speaks; aspeaker.
2016, Sonia Tascon, Tyson Wils,Activist Film Festivals: Towards a Political Subject:The inclusion of transgendervoices further disrupts the homonormalization of sex and identity evident in popular LGBTQ cinema.
2024 July 25, Katie Rogers, quotingJoe Biden, “Biden Says It Is Time to Step Aside for a Fresh, Younger Voice”, inThe New York Times[3],→ISSN:President Biden told the American public in an Oval Office address on Wednesday that he had abandoned his re-election campaign because there is “a time and a place for newvoices, freshvoices — yes, youngervoices.”
- (literature) A particular style or way of writing that expresses a certaintone or feeling.
- (grammar) A particular way of inflecting or conjugating verbs, or a particular form of a verb, by means of which is indicated the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses.
The verbal system of Latin has twovoices, active and passive.
2012, Drew Arlen Mannetter,I Came, I Saw, I Translated, page197:There are four tenses of the subjunctive (present, perfect, imperfect, and pluperfect) and threevoices (active, passive, and deponent). [...] See 12.8 for the formation of the deponentvoice.
- (music) Inharmony, an independent vocal or instrumental part in a piece ofcomposition.
The theme of this piece constantly migrates between the threevoice parts.
- (Internet, IRC) Aflag associated with auser on achannel, determining whether or not they can send messages to the channel.
1999 February 20, Cory McWilliams, “IRC oddities”, inalt.irc[4] (Usenet), message-ID <7amrhu$17kg@enews2.newsguy.com>:True, better clients will remember that a person had avoice before they were opped and will return the + when they are deopped, but that doesn't solve the problem.
Terms derived fromvoice (noun)
Grammatical terms derived fromvoice (noun)
- → Russian:войс(vojs) (slang, from "voice message")
FromMiddle Englishvoysen,voicen, from the noun (see above).
voice (third-person singular simple presentvoices,present participlevoicing,simple past and past participlevoiced)
- (transitive) To giveutterance orexpression to; to utter; topublish; toannounce
Hevoiced the sentiments of the nation.
1625,Francis [Bacon], “Of Great Place”, inThe Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret,→OCLC:Rather assume thy right in silence and[…] thenvoice it with claims and challenges.
- (transitive, phonology) To utter audibly, with tone and not just breath.
- (transitive) To fit for producing thepropersounds; toregulate the tone of
voice the pipes of an organ
- (transitive, obsolete) Tovote; toelect; toappoint
- (intransitive, obsolete) Toclamor; to cry out[1]
1638, Francis Quarles,Divine Fancies: Digeſted Into Epigrammes, Meditations, and Obſervations[5], London: Iohn Marriot, page67:If thou wilt give meDavids heart; Ilevoyce, / Great God, withDavid; and makeDavids choyce.
1666, Robert South,A ſermon preached at Lambeth-Chappel on the 25th of November […] [6], London: William Nott:It is not the gift of every Perſon, nor of every Age, to harangue the multitude, toVoice it high and loud, &Dominari in Concionibus.
1682,Thomas Southern,The Loyal Brother, Or The Perſian Prince[7], London: William Cademan, page29:How wou'd theyvoice it o're and o're forTachmas / To come, and blunt the edge of War agen!
1868,Alfred Tennyson, “Lucretius”, inThe Holy Grail and Other Poems, London:Strahan and Co., […], published1870,→OCLC,page211:[L]ambs are glad / Nosing the mother's udder, and the bird / Makes his heartvoice among the blaze of flowers:[…]
- (transitive, Internet, IRC) To assign thevoice flag to auser onIRC, permitting them to send messages to thechannel.
2001 November 22, Thom Peppard, “assistance please”, inalt.irc[8] (Usenet), message-ID <B8225C66.240B%thompeppard@tru.eastlink.ca>:I would like this script to allow me to notice not only the ops in a channel, but also those that have beenvoiced by the ops, at the same time.
2004 August 1, Remco Rijnders, “moderating an IRC session”, inalt.irc[9] (Usenet), message-ID <opsb1625xn32ljov@news.xs4all.nl>:If you then want others to be able to talk, you canvoice them (+v) or if you want everyone able to talk, you can remove the moderation flag on the channel (-m).
- (television, film) To act as avoice actor toportray a character.
2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits :”, inThe Onion AV Club[10]:The openly ridiculous plot has The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) scheming to win the Pirate Of The Year competition, even though he’s a terrible pirate, far outclassed by rivalsvoiced by Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayek.
- ^James A. H. Murrayet al., editors (1884–1928), “Voice,v.”, inA New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volumeX, Part 2 (V–Z), London:Clarendon Press,→OCLC,page283, column 3.
voice
- alternative form ofvoys
