speaker
nounUS /ˈspikɚ/ · UK /ˈspiːkə/
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *spregʰ-? Proto-Indo-European *spreg-? Proto-Germanic *sprekaną Proto-West Germanic *sprekan Old English sprecan Old English specan Middle English speken Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere Middle English spekere, speker English speaker From Middle English speker, spekere, an alteration (with change of suffix) of Old English speca, spreca (“speaker”), from Proto-Germanic *sprekô (“speaker”), equivalent to speak + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Spreeker (“speaker”), West Frisian sprekker (“speaker”), Dutch spreker (“speaker”), German Low German Spreker (“speaker”), German Sprecher (“speaker”).
10 senses
- 1One who speaks.
- 2Loudspeaker.
- 3Speakerphone.
- 4The chair or presiding officer of certain legislative…
- 5One who makes a speech to an audience.
- 6A book containing passages of text for use in speeches.
- 7The producer of a given utterance, whether speech or text.
- 8The literary character uttering the lyrics of a poem or…
- 9A key on a woodwind instrument of the clarinet family…
- 10A wooden pole or spike used by hedgers to carry loads on…
One who speaks.
- There were three different speakers, but I couldn't make out their accents.
- This title is derived from the first verse of the book (1.1), which is a heading or colophon informing the reader who this Qoheleth was: he was the author of the book, or at least the speaker of the words which are contained in it ...1989, R. Norman Whybray, Ecclesiastes, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 15:
2 more examples
- As [David] Bellos points out, those born as English speakers are now a minority of English speakers: most speak it as a second language. English is the world’s biggest interlanguage.2011 October 28, Adam Thirlwell, “The Joyful Side of Translation”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2020:
- Each written word when spoken is mutually incomprehensible between a Mandarin speaker in Beijing and a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. If you think that’s odd, consider our number system: the symbol “9” is universally recognized but it’s pronounced “nine” in English and “devet” in Slovenian.2021 April 25, John Malathronas, “Which languages are easiest – and most difficult – for native English speakers to learn?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2022:
Loudspeaker.
- She lost her hearing after standing too close to the speaker at the festival.
Speakerphone.
- you're on speaker
- I'm gonna put you on speaker now
Government, Politics The chair or presiding officer of certain legislative bodies, such as the U.K. House of Commons or the U.S. House of Representatives.
One who makes a speech to an audience.
- Near-synonyms: orator, presenter, announcer
- hired speaker; motivational speaker
1 more example
- The company hired a motivational speaker to boost morale.
US A book containing passages of text for use in speeches.
Especially, In linguistics The producer of a given utterance, whether speech or text.
- The speaker spelled out the words to be communicated, letter by letter, while the reader's hand read the speaker's message. In its original form the hand alphabet assumed that both speaker and reader could already speak and spell the words ...2002, Merlin Donald, A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 242:
Communications, Journalism, Literature, Media, Poetry, Publishing, Writing Especially, In linguistics The literary character uttering the lyrics of a poem or song, as opposed to the author writing the words of that character.
- Popular culture often incorrectly attributes quotes from the speakers of poems or songs to the authors thereof, as when "I took the one less traveled by" is attributed to Robert Frost rather than to the speaker in Frost's "The Road Not Taken".
Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music A key on a woodwind instrument of the clarinet family (compare octave key on other instruments) which induces the instrument to overblow.
Archaic A wooden pole or spike used by hedgers to carry loads on their shoulders. Possibly Dorset dialect.
- With a speäker, or stake, he tossed the outlying scraps of fuel on the into the conflagration.1878, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native, page 18:
- Derived terms
35 terms
doublespeaker, ear speaker, forespeaker, forthspeaker, gainspeaker, guest speaker, heritage speaker, interspeaker, intraspeaker, lawspeaker, lay speaker, multispeaker, native-speaker, native speaker, non-native speaker, non-native-speaker, nonspeaker, PA speaker, PC speaker, plenary speaker, public speaker, remote speaker, semispeaker, smart speaker, speaker base, speaker enclosure, speakeress, speakerless, speakerlike, speakerly, speaker point, speaker pro tempore, speakership, tongues-speaker, tongues speaker- Hypernyms
- person
- Hyponyms
- monolingual, bilingual, trilingual, multilingual, polyglot, hyperpolyglot