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speech - 8 dictionary results

speech

  [speech]
Use speech in a Sentence
–noun
1. the faculty or power of speaking; oral communication; ability to express one's thoughts and emotions by speech sounds and gesture: Losing her speech made her feel isolated from humanity.
2. the act of speaking: He expresses himself better in speech than in writing.
3. something that is spoken; an utterance, remark, or declaration: We waited for some speech that would indicate her true feelings.
4. a form of communication in spoken language, made by a speaker before an audience for a given purpose: a fiery speech.
5. any single utterance of an actor in the course of a play, motion picture, etc.
6. the form of utterance characteristic of a particular people or region; a language or dialect.
7. manner of speaking, as of a person: Your slovenly speech is holding back your career.
8. a field of study devoted to the theory and practice of oral communication.
9. Archaic. rumor.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME speche, OE spǣc, var. of sprǣc, deriv. of sprecan to speak; c. G Sprache

Synonyms:
1. parlance, parley, conversation, communication. Speech, language refer to the means of communication used by people. Speech is the expression of ideas and thoughts by means of articulate vocal sounds, or the faculty of thus expressing ideas and thoughts. Language is a set of conventional signs, not necessarily articulate or even vocal (any set of signs, signals, or symbols that convey meaning, including written words, may be called language): a spoken language. Thus, language is the set of conventions, and speech is the action of putting these to use: He couldn't understand the speech of the natives because it was in a foreign language. 3. observation, assertion, asseveration, comment, mention, talk. 4. talk, discourse. Speech, address, oration, harangue are terms for a communication to an audience. Speech is the general word, with no implication of kind or length, or whether planned or not. An address is a rather formal, planned speech, appropriate to a particular subject or occasion. An oration is a polished, rhetorical address, given usually on a notable occasion, that employs eloquence and studied methods of delivery. A harangue is a violent, informal speech, often addressed to a casually assembled audience, and intended to arouse strong feeling (sometimes to lead to mob action). 6. tongue, patois.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To speech
speech   (spēch)   
n.  
    1. The faculty or act of speaking.
    2. The faculty or act of expressing or describing thoughts, feelings, or perceptions by the articulation of words.
    3. A talk or public address: "The best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance" (Ruth Gordon).
    4. A printed copy of such an address.
  2. Something spoken; an utterance.
  3. Vocal communication; conversation.
    1. A talk or public address: "The best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance" (Ruth Gordon).
    2. A printed copy of such an address.
  5. One's habitual manner or style of speaking.
  6. The language or dialect of a nation or region: American speech.
  7. The sounding of a musical instrument.
  8. The study of oral communication, speech sounds, and vocal physiology.
  9. Archaic Rumor.

[Middle English speche, from Old English sprǣc, spǣc.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Speech

Speech\, n. [OE. speche, AS. sp?c, spr?, fr. specan, sprecan, to speak; akin to D. spraak speech, OHG. spr[=a]hha, G. sprache, Sw. spr?k, Dan. sprog. See Speak.]

1. The faculty of uttering articulate sounds or words; the faculty of expressing thoughts by words or articulate sounds; the power of speaking.

There is none comparable to the variety of instructive expressions by speech, wherewith man alone is endowed for the communication of his thoughts. --Holder.

2. he act of speaking; that which is spoken; words, as expressing ideas; language; conversation.

Note: Speech is voice modulated by the throat, tongue, lips, etc., the modulation being accomplished by changing the form of the cavity of the mouth and nose through the action of muscles which move their walls.

O goode God! how gentle and how kind Ye seemed by your speech and your visage The day that maked was our marriage. --Chaucer.

The acts of God . . . to human ears Can nort without process of speech be told. --Milton.

3. A particular language, as distinct from others; a tongue; a dialect.

People of a strange speech and of an hard language. --Ezek. iii. 6.

4. Talk; mention; common saying.

The duke . . . did of me demand What was the speech among the Londoners Concerning the French journey. --Shak.

5. formal discourse in public; oration; harangue.

The constant design of these orators, in all their speeches, was to drive some one particular point. --Swift.

6. ny declaration of thoughts.

I. with leave of speech implored, . . . replied. --Milton.

Syn: Syn. Harangue; language; address; oration. See Harangue, and Language.

Speech

Speech\, v. i. & t. To make a speech; to harangue. [R.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : speech
Spanish: habla,
German: die Sprache,
Japanese: 話す力
More Translations »

speech 
O.E. spæc "act of speaking, manner of speaking, formal utterance," variant of spræc, related to sprecan, specan "to speak" (see speak), from P.Gmc. *sprækijo (cf. Ger. Sprache "speech"). The spr- forms were extinct in Eng. by 1200. Meaning "address delivered to an audience" first recorded 1583. Speechify "talk in a pompous, pontifical way" first recorded 1723. Speechless "astonished" is attested from c.1374.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: speech
Function: noun
: words or conduct used to communicate or express a thought : EXPRESSION —see also COMMERCIAL SPEECH, FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREE SPEECH, OBSCENE, SYMBOLIC SPEECH Amendment I to the CONSTITUTION in the back matter
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: speech
Pronunciation: 'spEch
Function: noun
: the communication or expression of thoughts in spoken words
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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speech (spēch)
n.

  1. The faculty or act of expressing thoughts, feelings, or perceptions by the articulation of words.
  2. Vocal communication; conversation.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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