Political Speech Glossary

speak

O.E. specan, variant of sprecan "to speak" (class V strong verb; past tense spræc, pp. sprecen), from P.Gmc. *sprekanan (cf. O.S. sprecan, O.Fris. spreka, M.Du. spreken, O.H.G. sprehhan, Ger. sprechen "to speak," O.N. spraki "rumor, report"), cognate with L. spargere "to strew" (speech as a "scattering" of words; see sparse). The -r- began to drop out in Late West Saxon and was gone by mid-12c., perhaps from infl. of Dan. spage "crackle," in a slang sense of "speak" (cf. crack in slang senses having to do with speech, e.g. wisecrack, cracker, all it's cracked up to be). Rare variant forms without -r- also are found in M.Du. (speken) and O.H.G. (spehhan). Not the primary word for "to speak" in O.E. ("Beowulf" prefers maþelian, from mæþel "assembly, council," from root of metan "to meet;" cf. Gk. agoreuo "to speak," originally "speak in the assembly," from agora "assembly").

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.

Speechless "astonished" is attested from c.1374.

parse

c.1553, "to state the parts of speech in a sentence," verb use of M.E. pars (n.) "part of speech" (c.1300), from O.Fr. pars, pl. of part "part," from L. pars (see part (n.)) in school question, Quae pars orationis? "What part of speech?"

peroration

c.1440, from L. perorationem (nom. peroratio) "the ending of a speech or argument of a case," from peroratus, pp. of perorare "argue a case to the end, bring a speech to a close," from per- "to the end" + orare "speak, plead" (see orator).

orator

c.1374, "one who pleads or argues for a cause," from Anglo-Fr. oratour, from O.Fr. orateur (14c.), from L. oratorem (nom. orator) "speaker," from orare "speak before a court or assembly, plead," from PIE base *or- "to pronounce a ritual formula" (cf. Skt. aryanti "they praise," Homeric Gk. are, Attic ara "prayer," Hittite ariya- "to ask the oracle," aruwai- "to revere, worship"). Meaning "public speaker" is attested from c.1430.

orator

parole

1616, "word of honor," especially "promise by a prisoner of war not to escape," from Fr. parole "word, speech" (in parole d'honneur "word of honor") from Gallo-Romance *paraula "speech, discourse," from L. parabola (see parable). Sense of "conditional release of a prisoner before full term" is first attested 1908 in criminal slang. The verb (1716) originally was what the prisoner did ("pledge"); its transitive meaning "put on parole" is first attested 1853.

tongue

O.E. tunge "organ of speech, speech, language," from P.Gmc. *tungon (cf. O.S., O.N. tunga, O.Fris. tunge, M.Du. tonghe, Du. tong, O.H.G. zunga, Ger. Zunge, Goth. tuggo), from PIE *dnghwa- (cf. L. lingua "tongue, speech, language," from Old L. dingua; O.Ir. tenge, Welsh tafod, Lith. liezuvis, O.C.S. jezyku). The substitution of M.E. -o- for O.E. -u- before -m- or -n- was a scribal habit (cf. some, monk, etc.) to avoid misreading the letters in the old style hand, which jammed them together; and the spelling of the ending of the word apparently is a 14c. attempt to indicate proper pronunciation, but the result is "neither etymological nor phonetic, and is only in a very small degree historical" [OED]. Meaning "foreign language" is from 1535. The verb meaning "to touch with the tongue, lick" is attested from 1687. Tongue-tied is first recorded 1529; tongue-in-cheek (adj.) is recorded from 1933, from phrase to speak with one's tongue in one's cheek "to speak insincerely" (1748), which somehow must have been suggestive of sly irony or humorous insincerity, but the exact notion is obscure.

apology

1533, "defense, justification," from L.L. apologia, from Gk. apologia "a speech in defense," from apologeisthai "to speak in one's defense," from apologos "an account, story," from apo- "from, off" (see apo-) + logos "speech." The original Eng. sense of "self-justification" yielded a meaning "frank expression of regret for wrong done," first recorded 1594, but it was not the main sense until 18c. The old sense tends to emerge in Latin form apologia (first attested 1784), especially since J.H. Newman's "Apologia pro Vita Sua" (1864). The Gk. equivalent of apologize (1725 in the modern sense of "acknowledge and express regret"), apologizesthai, meant simply "to give an account."

discourse

c.1374, alteration of L. discursus "a running about," in L.L. "conversation," from stem of discurrere "run about," from dis- "apart" + currere "to run." Sense of "formal speech or writing" is first recorded 1581.

jargon

1340, "unintelligible talk, gibberish," from O.Fr. jargon "a chattering" (of birds), ultimately of echoic origin (cf. L. garrire "to chatter," Eng. gargle). Often applied to something the speaker does not understand, hence meaning "mode of speech full of unfamiliar terms" (1651).

disquisition

1605, "subject for investigation," also "systematic search," from L. disquisitionem (nom. disquisitio), from stem of disquirere "inquire," from dis- "apart" + quærere "seek, ask." Sense of "long speech" first recorded 1647.

hermeneutic

interpretive, 1678, from Gk. hermeneutikos "interpreting," from hermeneutes "interpreter," from hermeneuein "to interpret," considered ultimately a derivative of Hermes, as the tutelary divinity of speech, writing, and eloquence.

scheme (n.)

1553, "figure of speech," from M.L. schema "shape, figure, form, figure of speech," from Gk. skhema (gen. skhematos) "figure, appearance, the nature of a thing," related to skhein "to get," and ekhein "to have," from PIE base *segh- "to hold, to hold in one's power, to have" (cf. Skt. sahate "he masters," sahah "power, victory;" Avestan hazah "power, victory;" Gk. ekhein "to have, hold;" Goth. sigis, O.H.G. sigu, O.N. sigr, O.E. sige "victory"). The sense "program of action" first is attested 1647. Unfavorable overtones (selfish, devious) began to creep in early 18c. The verb, in the sense of "devise a scheme," was first recorded 1767. Color scheme is attested from 1884.

lecture (n.)

1398, "action of reading, that which is read," from M.L. lectura "a reading, lecture," from L. lectus, pp. of legere "to read," originally "to gather, collect, pick out, choose" (cf. election), from PIE *leg- "to pick together, gather, collect" (cf. Gk. legein "to say, tell, speak, declare," originally, in Homer, "to pick out, select, collect, enumerate;" lexis "speech, diction;" logos "word, speech, thought, account;" L. lignum "wood, firewood," lit. “that which is gathered”). To read is to "pick out words." Meaning "action of reading (a lesson) aloud" is from 1526. That of "a discourse on a given subject before an audience for purposes of instruction" is from 1536. The verb is attested from 1590.

phemia

comb. form meaning "speech," from Gk. -phemia, from pheme "speech," from stem of phemi "I speak," cognate with L. fari "to speak," fama "report, reputation" (see fame).

aphasia

loss of ability to speak, especially as result of brain injury or disorder, 1867, from Mod.L. aphasia, from Gk. a- "without" + phasis "utterance," from phanai "to speak," related to pheme "voice, report, rumor" (see fame).

obloquy

1460, "evil speaking," from L.L. obloquium "speaking against, contradiction," from ob "against" + loqui "to speak," from PIE *tolkw-/*tlokw- "to speak."

phoneme

distinctive sound or group of sounds, 1896, from Gk. phonema "a sound," from phonein "to sound or speak," from phone "sound, voice," from PIE base *bha- "speak" (see fame)

phone

comb. form meaning "voice," from Gk. phone "voice, sound," from PIE base *bha- "to speak, say, tell" (cf. L. for, fari "to speak," fama "talk, report;" see fame).

parley (n.)

conference, especially with an enemy, 1449, from M.Fr. parlée, from fem. pp. of O.Fr. parler "to speak," from L.L. parabolare "to speak (in parables)," from parabola "speech, discourse," from L. parabola "comparison" (see parable). The verb is 14c., probably a separate borrowing of O.Fr. parler.

allegory

1382, from O.Fr. allegorie, from L. allegoria, from Gk. allegoria "description of one thing under the image of another," from allos "another, different" (see alias) + agoreuein "speak openly, speak in the assembly," from agora "assembly."

voice (n.)

c.1290, "sound made by the human mouth," from O.Fr. voiz, from L. vocem (nom. vox) "voice, sound, utterance, cry, call, speech, sentence, language, word," related to vocare "to call," from PIE base *wek- "give vocal utterance, speak" (cf. Skt. vakti "speaks, says," vacas- "word;" Avestan vac- "speak, say;" Gk. aor. eipon "spoke, said," epos "word;" O.Prus. wackis "cry;" Ger. er-wähnen "to mention"). Replaced O.E. stefn. Meaning "ability in a singer" is first attested 1607. Verb meaning "to express" (a feeling, opinion, etc.) first attested 1607. The noun in this sense (in ref. to groups of people, etc., e.g. Voice of America) is recorded from 1390.

ban (v.)

O.E. bannan "to summon by proclamation," a sense surviving only in banns of marriage (1198; spelling with double -n- attested from 1549), which also is partly from O.Fr. ban "public proclamation," from Frank. *ban, cognate of the O.E. word. Main modern sense of "prohibit" is from O.N. banna "curse, prohibit," and probably in part from O.Fr. ban, which also meant "outlawry, banishment." O.E., Frank. and O.N. words all are from P.Gmc. *bannan "proclaim, command, forbid" (cf. O.H.G. bannan "to command or forbit under threat of punishment," Ger. bannen "banish, expel, curse"), from PIE base *bha- "to speak" (cf. O.Ir. bann "law," from the same root; see fame). Sense evolved from "speak" to "proclaim a threat" to "curse." Banned in Boston dates from 1920s, in allusion to the excessive zeal and power of that city's Watch and Ward Society.

Newspeak

artificial language of official communication in George Orwell's novel 'Nineteen Eighty-Four,' 1949, from new + speak. Frequently applied to propagandistic warped English.

mumble

c.1325, momelen, "to eat in a slow, ineffective manner," probably freq. of mum (interj.). The -b- is excrescent. Meaning "to speak indistinctly" is from 1362. The noun is first attested 1902.

analects

1658, "literary gleanings," from Gk. analekta, lit. "things chosen," neut. pl., from ana- "up" + legein "to gather," also "to choose words," hence "to speak."

unspeakable

c.1400, "inexpressible," from un- (1) "not" + speakable (see speak). Meaning "indescribably bad or wicked" is recorded from 1831.

mum (interj.)

1568, from M.E. mum, mom "silent" (1377), imitative of the sound made with closed lips, as indicative of unwillingness or inability to speak. Phrase mum's the word is first recorded 1704.

censor (n.)

1531, Roman magistrate who took censuses and oversaw public morals, from L. censere "to appraise, value, judge," from PIE base *kens- "speak solemnly, announce." Transferred sense of "officious judge of morals and conduct" is from 1592; of books, plays, later films, etc., 1644. The verb is from 1882.

homologous

1660, from Gk. homologos "agreeing, of one mind," from homos "same" (see same) + logos "relation, reasoning, computation," related to legein "reckon, select, speak."

logy

a speaking, discourse, treatise, doctrine, theory, science, from Gk. -logia (often via Fr. -logie or M.L. -logia), from root of legein "to speak;" thus, "the character or department of one who speaks or treats of (a certain subject)."

reticence

1603, from Fr. réticence, from L. reticentia "silence," from reticere "keep silent," from re-, intensive prefix, + tacere "be silent" (see tact). "Not in common use until after 1830" [O.E.D.]. Adjective form reticent is from 1834.

secret

1378 (n.), 1399 (adj.), from L. secretus "set apart, withdrawn, hidden," originally pp. of secernere "to set apart," from se- "without, apart," prop. “on one's own” (from PIE *sed-, from base *s(w)e-; see idiom) + cernere "separate" (see crisis). The verb meaning "to keep secret" (described in OED as "obsolete") is attested from 1595. Secretive is attested from 1853. Secret agent first recorded 1715; secret service is from 1737; secret weapon is from 1936.

clandestine

1566, from L. clandestinus "secret, hidden," from clam "secretly," from base of celare "to hide" (see cell)

cell

c.1131, "small room," from L. cella "small room, hut," related to L. celare "to hide, conceal," from PIE base *kel- "conceal" (cf. Skt. cala "hut, house, hall;" Gk. kalia "hut, nest," kalyptein "to cover," koleon "sheath," kelyphos "shell, husk;" L. cella "store room," clam "secret;" O.Ir. cuile "cellar," celim "hide," M.Ir. cul "defense, shelter;" Goth. hulistr "covering," O.E. heolstor "lurking-hole, cave, covering," Goth. huljan "cover over," hulundi "hole," hilms "helmet," halja "hell," O.E. hol "cave," holu "husk, pod"). Earliest sense is for monastic rooms, then prison rooms (1722). Used in biology 17c., but not in modern sense until 1845. Meaning "small group of people working within a larger organization" is from 1925. Cellphone is from 1984.

free (adj.)

O.E. freo "free, exempt from, not in bondage," also "noble, joyful," from P.Gmc. *frijaz (cf. M.H.G. vri, Ger. frei, Du. vrij, Goth. freis "free"), from PIE *prijos "dear, beloved" (cf. Skt. priyah "own, dear, beloved," priyate "loves;" O.C.S. prijati "to help," prijatelji "friend;" Welsh rhydd "free"). The adv. is from O.E. freon, freogan "to free, love." The primary sense seems to have been "beloved, friend, to love;" which in some languages (notably Gmc. and Celtic) developed also a sense of "free," perhaps from the terms "beloved" or "friend" being applied to the free members of one's clan (as opposed to slaves, cf. L. liberi, meaning both "free" and "children"). Cf. Goth. frijon "to love;" O.E. freod "affection, friendship," friga "love," friðu "peace;" O.N. friðr, Ger. Friede "peace;" O.E. freo "wife;" O.N. Frigg "wife of Odin," lit. "beloved" or "loving;" M.L.G. vrien "to take to wife, Du. vrijen, Ger. freien "to woo." Sense of "given without cost" is 1585, from notion of "free of cost." Of nations, "not subject to foreign rule or to despotism," it is recorded from 1375. Freedman "manumitted slave" first recorded 1601. Colloquial freeloader first recorded 1930s; free fall is from 1919, originally of parachutists; free-hand is from 1862; free-thinker is from 1692. Freebie dates back to 1942 as freeby, perhaps as early as 1900. Free-for-all "mass brawl" (in which anyone may participate) first recorded 1881. Freebase (n. and v.) in ref. to cocaine first recorded 1980.

liberate

1623, from L. liberatus, pp. of liberare "set free," from liber "free" (see liberal). Meaning "to free an occupied territory from the enemy" (often used ironically) is from 1944. Liberation is c.1440; liberation theology (1969) translates Sp. teologia de la liberación, coined 1968 by Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez.

liberal (adj.)

c.1375, from O.Fr. liberal "befitting free men, noble, generous," from L. liberalis "noble, generous," lit. "pertaining to a free man," from liber "free," from PIE base *leudheros (cf. Gk. eleutheros "free"), probably originally "belonging to the people" (though the precise semantic development is obscure), from *leudho- "people" (cf. O.C.S. ljudu, Lith. liaudis, O.E. leod, Ger. Leute "nation, people"). Earliest reference in Eng. is to the liberal arts (L. artes liberales; see art (n.)), the seven attainments directed to intellectual enlargement, not immediate practical purpose, and thus deemed worthy of a free man (the word in this sense was opposed to servile or mechanical). Sense of "free in bestowing" is from 1387. With a meaning "free from restraint in speech or action" (1490) liberal was used 16c.-17c. as a term of reproach. It revived in a positive sense in the Enlightenment, with a meaning "free from prejudice, tolerant," which emerged 1776-88. Purely in ref. to political opinion, "tending in favor of freedom and democracy" it dates from c.1801, from Fr. libéral, originally applied in Eng. by its opponents (often in Fr. form and with suggestions of foreign lawlessness) to the party favorable to individual political freedoms. But also (especially in U.S. politics) tending to mean "favorable to government action to effect social change," which seems at times to draw more from the religious sense of "free from prejudice in favor of traditional opinions and established institutions" (and thus open to new ideas and plans of reform), which dates from 1823.

Conservative, n. A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others. [Ambrose Bierce, "Devil's Dictionary," 1911]

The noun meaning "member of the Liberal party of Great Britain" is from 1820. Liberalism is first attested 1819.

emancipate

1605, from L. emancipatus, pp. of emancipare "declare (someone) free, give up one's authority over," in Roman law, the freeing of a son or wife from the legal authority (patria potestas) of the pater familias, to make his or her own way in the world; from ex- "out, away" + mancipare "deliver, transfer or sell," from mancipum "ownership," from manus "hand" (see manual) + capere "take" (see capable). Adopted in the cause of religious toleration (17c.), then anti-slavery (1776). Also used in ref. to women who free themselves from conventional customs (1850). Emancipation in the slavery sense is from 1785

villain

1303, "base or low-born rustic," from Anglo-Fr. and O.Fr. villain, from M.L. villanus "farmhand," from L. villa "country house" (see villa).

"The most important phases of the sense development of this word may be summed up as follows: 'inhabitant of a farm; peasant; churl, boor; clown; miser; knave, scoundrel.' Today both Fr. vilain and Eng. villain are used only in a pejorative sense." [Klein]

Meaning "character in a novel, play, etc. whose evil motives or actions help drive the plot" is from 1822. Villainous is recorded from c.1300, from O.Fr. vileneus; villainy (c.1225) is from O.Fr. vilanie.

thought (n.)

O.E. þoht, geþoht, from stem of þencan "to conceive of in the mind, consider" (see think). Cognate with the second element in Ger. Gedächtnis "memory," Andacht "attention, devotion," Bedacht "consideration, deliberation." Thoughtful "given to thinking, meditative" is attested from c.1200; sense of "considerate of others" is first recorded 1851 (thoughtless "inconsiderate" is attested from 1794). Second thought "later consideration" is recorded from 1642. Thought-crime is from "Nineteen Eighty-Four" (1949); thought police is attested from 1946, originally in ref. to pre-war Japanese Special Higher Police (Tokubetsu Koto Keisatsu).

mind (n.)

O.E. gemynd "memory, thinking, intention," P.Gmc. *ga-menthijan (cf. Goth. muns "thought," O.N. minni "mind," Ger. minne, originally "memory, loving memory"), from PIE base *men- "think, remember, have one's mind aroused" (cf. Skt. matih "thought," Gk. memona "I yearn," L. mens "mind," memini "I remember," Lith. mintis "thought, idea," O.C.S. mineti "to believe, think," Rus. pamjat "memory"). "Memory" is one of the oldest senses, now almost obsolete except in old expressions such as bear in mind, call to mind. Phrase time out of mind is from 1414. To pay no mind "disregard" is 1916, U.S. dialect. To have half a mind to "to have one's mind half made up to (do something)" is recorded from 1726. Mind-reading is from 1882. Mind-boggling is from 1964.

stump (n.)

c.1350, "remaining part of a severed arm or leg," from or cognate with M.L.G. stump (from adj. meaning "mutilated, blunt, dull"), M.Du. stomp "stump," from P.Gmc. *stump- (cf. O.N. stumpr, O.H.G., Ger. stumpf "stump," Ger. Stummel "piece cut off"), perhaps related to the root of stub or stamp, but the connection in each case presents difficulties. Earliest form of the word in Eng. is a now-obs. verb meaning "to stumble over a tree-stump or other obstacle," attested from c.1250. Meaning "part of a tree trunk left in the ground after felling" is from 1440. Sense of "walk clumsily" is first recorded 1600; that of "baffle" is first recorded 1807, perhaps in reference to plowing newly cleared land.

stump (v.)

to go on a speaking tour during a political campaign, 1838, Amer.Eng., from phrase stump speech (1820), from stump (n.), large tree stumps being a natural perch for rural orators (this custom is attested from 1775).

podium

1743, "raised platform around an ancient arena," also "projecting base of a pedestal," from L. podium "raised platform," from Gk. podion "foot of a vase," dim. of pous (gen. podos) "foot" (see foot). Meaning "raised platform at the front of a hall or stage" is from 194

fear (n.)

O.E. fær "danger, peril," from P.Gmc. *færa (cf. O.S. far "ambush," O.N. far "harm, distress, deception," Ger. Gefahr "danger"), from PIE base *per- "to try, risk, come over, go through" (perhaps connected with Gk. peira "trial, attempt, experience," L. periculum "trial, risk, danger"). Sense of "uneasiness caused by possible danger" developed c.1175. The v. is from O.E. færan "terrify, frighten," originally transitive (sense preserved in archaic I fear me). Sense of "feel fear" is 1393. O.E. words for "fear" as we now use it were ege, fyrhto; as a verb, ondrædan. Fearsome is attested from 1768.

GNOSIOPHOBIA - FEAR OF KNOWLEDGE

GLOSSOPHOBIA - FEAR OF SPEECH (SPEAKING, SPEAKING IN PUBLIC)