ventriloquist
Meaningbelly speaker
Common meaning: one who speaks so the voice seems to come from elsewhere
- ventrthe bellyLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1969 · scan
- loquto speak, talkLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1077 · scan
- ista person who does or follows
‘the belly’ + ‘to speak, talk’ → ventriloquist
Journey through time
- ventr — Latin venter, ventris “the belly” (path traced)
- loqu — Latin loquor, locūtus “to speak, talk” (path traced)
- Latinventer, ventris + loquor, locūtus‘the belly + to speak, talk’
- Englishventriloquist‘one who speaks so the voice seems to come from elsewhere’ · today
ventr also in: ventralventricle
loqu also in: eloquentcolloquial
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: not available. Respelling: generated.
- US IPA: not available. Respelling: generated.
Origin: Built on Latin venter ‘the belly’ + Latin loquor ‘to speak, talk’.
Did you know (Latin venter, the…): our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry venter, p. 1969 · dictionary scan
Did you know (Latin loqui, to…): our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry loquor, p. 1077 · dictionary scan
Roots
- loquor, locūtus Latin “to speak, talk”
- venter, ventris Latin “the belly”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app