voice

English Online Dictionary. What means voice‎? What does voice mean?

English

Alternative forms

• voyce (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɔɪs/
• Rhymes: -ɔɪs

Etymology 1

From Middle English voice, voys, vois, borrowed from Anglo-Norman voiz, voys, voice, Old French vois, voiz (Modern French voix), from Latin vōcem, accusative form of vōx (“voice”), from Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs, root noun from *wekʷ- (“to utter, speak”). Cognate with Sanskrit वाच् (vāc), Ancient Greek ὄψ (óps), Persian آواز (âvâz). Displaced native Middle English steven (“voice”) (from Old English stefn (see steven)), Old English hlēoþor, and Old English woþ. Broadly overtook Old English reord.

Compare advocate, advowson, avouch, convoke, epic, vocal, vouch, vowel. Doublet of vox.

Noun

voice (plural voices)

1. Sound uttered by the mouth, especially by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character
2. (phonetics) Sound made through vibration of the vocal cords; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; — distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in whispering and voiceless consonants.
3. The tone or sound emitted by an object
4. The faculty or power of utterance

5. That which is communicated; message; meaning.
   • 17th century, John Fell, unknown work

     Let us call on God in the voice of his church.

6. An expressed opinion, choice, will, desire, or wish; the right or ability to make such expression or to have it considered
7. (archaic) Command; precept.
8. One who speaks; a speaker.
9. (literature) A particular style or way of writing that expresses a certain tone or feeling.
10. (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.
11. (music) In harmony, an independent vocal or instrumental part in a piece of composition.

12. (Internet, IRC) A flag associated with a user on a channel, determining whether or not they can send messages to the channel.

Synonyms

• (sound of human speech): steven (obsolete), reard (obsolete or dialectal)
• (opinion): steven (obsolete), vote, say-so
• (voice of verbs): diathesis, gender (of verbs), grammatical voice, verbal voice

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Russian: войс (vojs) (slang, from "voice message")

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English voysen, voicen, from the noun (see above).

Verb

voice (third-person singular simple present voices, present participle voicing, simple past and past participle voiced)

1. (transitive) To give utterance or expression to; to utter; to publish; to announce
2. (transitive, phonology) To utter audibly, with tone and not just breath.
3. (transitive) To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of

4. (transitive, obsolete) To vote; to elect; to appoint
5. (intransitive, obsolete) To clamor; to cry out
6. (transitive, Internet, IRC) To assign the voice flag to a user on IRC, permitting them to send messages to the channel.
7. (television, film) To act as a voice actor to portray a character.

Related terms

Translations

References

Middle English

Noun

voice

1. Alternative form of voys