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Webster 1913 Edition

Voice

Voice

,
Noun.
[OE.
vois
,
voys
, OF.
vois
,
voiz
, F.
voix
, L.
vox
,
vocis
, akin to Gr. [GREEK] a word, [GREEK] a voice, Skr.
vac
to say, to speak, G. er
wähnen
to mention. Cf.
Advocate
,
Advowson
,
Avouch
,
Convoke
,
Epic
,
Vocal
,
Vouch
,
Vowel
.]
1.
Sound uttered by the mouth, especially that uttered by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character;
as, the human
voice
; a pleasant
voice
; a low
voice
.
He with a manly
voice
saith his message.
Chaucer.
Her
voice
was ever soft,
Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in woman.
Shakespeare
Thy
voice
is music.
Shakespeare
Join thy
voice
unto the angel choir.
Milton.
2.
(Phon.)
Sound of the kind or quality heard in speech or song in the consonants b, v, d, etc., and in the vowels; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; – distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in f, s, sh, etc., and also whisper.
☞ Voice, in this sense, is produced by vibration of the so-called vocal cords in the larynx (see Illust. of
Larynx
) which act upon the air, not in the manner of the strings of a stringed instrument, but as a pair of membranous tongues, or reeds, which, being continually forced apart by the outgoing current of breath, and continually brought together again by their own elasticity and muscular tension, break the breath current into a series of puffs, or pulses, sufficiently rapid to cause the sensation of tone. The power, or loudness, of such a tone depends on the force of the separate pulses, and this is determined by the pressure of the expired air, together with the resistance on the part of the vocal cords which is continually overcome. Its pitch depends on the number of aerial pulses within a given time, that is, on the rapidity of their succession. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 5, 146, 155.
3.
The tone or sound emitted by anything.
After the fire a still small
voice
.
1 Kings xix. 12.
Canst thou thunder with a
voice
like him?
Job xl. 9.
The floods have lifted up their
voice
.
Ps. xciii. 3.
O Marcus, I am warm’d; my heart
Leaps at the trumpet's
voice
.
Addison.
4.
The faculty or power of utterance;
as, to cultivate the
voice
.
5.
Language; words; speech; expression; signification of feeling or opinion.
I desire to be present with you now, and to change my
voice
; for I stand in doubt of you.
Gal. iv. 20.
My
voice
is in my sword.
Shakespeare
Let us call on God in the
voice
of his church.
Bp. Fell.
6.
Opinion or choice expressed; judgment; a vote.
Sic
. How now, my masters! have you chose this man?
1
Cit
. He has our
voices
, sir.
Shakespeare
Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice
Of holy senates, and elect by
voice
.
Dryden.
7.
Command; precept; – now chiefly used in scriptural language.
So shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the
voice
of the Lord your God.
Deut. viii. 20.
8.
One who speaks; a speaker.
“A potent voice of Parliament.”
Tennyson.
9.
(Gram.)
A particular mode 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.
Active voice
(Gram.)
,
that form of the verb by which its subject is represented as the agent or doer of the action expressed by it.
–
Chest voice
(Phon.)
,
a kind of voice of a medium or low pitch and of a sonorous quality ascribed to resonance in the chest, or thorax; voice of the thick register. It is produced by vibration of the vocal cords through their entire width and thickness, and with convex surfaces presented to each other.
–
Head voice
(Phon.)
,
a kind of voice of high pitch and of a thin quality ascribed to resonance in the head; voice of the thin register; falsetto. In producing it, the vibration of the cords is limited to their thin edges in the upper part, which are then presented to each other.
–
Middle voice
(Gram.)
,
that form of the verb by which its subject is represented as both the agent, or doer, and the object of the action, that is, as performing some act to or upon himself, or for his own advantage.
–
Passive voice
.
(Gram.)
See under
Passive
,
Adj.
–
Voice glide
(Pron.)
,
the brief and obscure neutral vowel sound that sometimes occurs between two consonants in an unaccented syllable (represented by the apostrophe), as in able
(a′b’l)
. See
Glide
,
Noun.
, 2.
–
Voice stop
.
See
Voiced stop
, under
Voiced
,
Adj.
–
With one voice
,
unanimously.
“All with one voice . . . cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.”
Acts xix. 34.

Voice

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Voiced
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Voicing
.]
1.
To give utterance or expression to; to utter; to publish; to announce; to divulge;
as, to
voice
the sentiments of the nation
.
“Rather assume thy right in silence and . . . then voice it with claims and challenges.”
Bacon.
It was
voiced
that the king purposed to put to death Edward Plantagenet.
Bacon.
2.
(Phon.)
To utter with sonant or vocal tone; to pronounce with a narrowed glottis and rapid vibrations of the vocal cords; to speak above a whisper.
3.
To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of;
as, to
voice
the pipes of an organ
.
4.
To vote; to elect; to appoint.
[Obs.]
Shak.

Voice

,
Verb.
I.
To clamor; to cry out.
[Obs.]
South.

Webster 1828 Edition

Voice

VOICE

,
Noun.
[L. vox; voco. The sense of the verb is to throw, to drive out sound; and voice is that which is driven out.]
1.
Sound or audible noise uttered by the mouth, either of human beings or of other animals. We say, the voice of a man is loud or clear; the voice of a woman is soft or musical; the voice of a dog is loud or harsh; the voice of a bird is sweet or melodious. The voice of human beings is articulate; that of beasts, inarticulate. The voices of men are different, and when uttered together, are often dissonant.
2.
Any sound made by the breath; as the trumpet's voice.
3.
A vote; suffrage; opinion or choice expressed. Originally voice was the oral utterance of choice, but it now signifies any vote however given.
Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice of holy senates, and elect by voice.
I have no words; my voice is in my sword.
4.
Language; words; expression.
Let us call on God in the voice of his church.
5.
In Scripture, command; precept.
Ye would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God. Deut. 8.
6.
Sound.
After the fire, a still small voice. 1Kings 19.
Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? Job. 40.
The floods have lifted up their voice. Ps. 93.
7.
Language; tone; mode of expression.
I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice. Gal. 4.
8.
In grammar, a particular mode of inflecting or conjugating verbs; as the active voice; the passive voice.

VOICE

, v.t.
1.
To rumor; to report.
It was voiced that the king purposed to put to death Edward Plantagenet. [Little used.]
2.
To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of; as, to voice the pipes of an organ.
3.
To vote.

VOICE

,
Verb.
I.
To clamor; to exclaim. Obs.

Definition 2024

voice

voice

English

Alternative forms

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
    The human voice is the oldest musical instrument in history.
    She has a pleasant voice.
    His low voice allowed hum to become a bass in the choir.
    • 2011 April 10, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport:
      Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner had backed manager Houllier during the week and asked for the fans to get behind their team as they looked to steer themselves away from the relegation zone.
      To that end, the home supporters were in good voice to begin with, but it was Newcastle who started the game in the ascendancy, with Barton putting a diving header over the top from Jose Enrique's cross.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Geoffrey Chaucer
      He with a manly voice saith his message.
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Shakespeare, King Lear, V-iii
      Her voice was ever soft, Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in woman.
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Shakespeare, Henry V, V-ii
      Thy voice is music.
    • (Can we date this quote?) — John Milton
      Join thy voice unto the angel choir.
  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
    • (Can we date this quote?)— 1 Kings 19:12
      After the fire a still small voice.
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Job 40:9
      Canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Psalms 93:3
      The floods have lifted up their voice.
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Joseph Addison
      O Marcus, I am warm’d; my heart Leaps at the trumpet’s voice.
  4. The faculty or power of utterance
    to cultivate the voice
  5. Language; words; speech; expression; signification of feeling or opinion
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Galatians 4:20
      I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Shakespeare, Macbeth, V-vii
      My voice is in my sword.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Bishop Fell
      Let us call on God in the voice of his church.
  6. Opinion or choice expressed; judgment
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Shakespeare, Coriolanus, II-iii
      Sicinius. How now, my masters! have you chose this man? / 1st Citizen. He has our voices, sir.
    • Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice / Of holy senates, and elect by voice. — John Dryden
  7. (archaic) Command; precept.
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Deuteronomy 8:20
      So shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.
  8. One who speaks; a speaker.
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Alfred Tennyson
      A potent voice of Parliament.
  9. (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.
    The verbal system of Latin has two voices, active and passive.
    • 2012, Drew Arlen Mannetter, I Came, I Saw, I Translated: An Accelerated Method for Learning Classical Latin in the 21st Century, page 197:
      There are four tenses of the subjunctive (present, perfect, imperfect, and pluperfect) and three voices (active, passive, and deponent). [...] See 12.8 for the formation of the deponent voice.
  10. (music) In harmony, an independent vocal or instrumental part in a piece of composition.
    The theme of this piece constantly migrates between the three voice parts.
  11. (Internet, IRC) A flag associated with a user on a channel, determining whether or not they can send messages to the channel.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

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
    He voiced the sentiments of the nation.
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Francis Bacon
      Rather assume thy right in silence and . . . then voice it with claims and challenges.
    • (Can we date this quote?) — Francis Bacon
      It was voiced that the king purposed to put to death Edward Plantagenet.
  2. (transitive, phonology) To utter audibly.
  3. (transitive) To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of
    voice the pipes of an organ
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To vote; to elect; to appoint
  5. (intransitive, obsolete) To clamor; to cry out
    • (Can we find and add a quotation of South to this entry?)
  6. (transitive, Internet) 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.
    • 2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits :”, in The Onion AV Club:
      The openly ridiculous plot has The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) scheming to win the Pirate Of The Year competition, even though he’s a terrible pirate, far outclassed by rivals voiced by Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayek.

Translations

Related terms

Etymology

From Middle English vois, 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 the *wekʷ- ‎(“to utter, speak”). Cognate with Sanskrit वाच् ‎(vāc), Ancient Greek ὄψ ‎(óps). Displaced native Middle English steven ‎(“voice”), from Old English stefn (see steven), Middle English rouste ‎(“voice”) from Old Norse raust, and Middle English rearde ‎(“voice”) from Old English reord. Compare advocate, advowson, avouch, convoke, epic, vocal, vouch, vowel.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /vɔɪs/
  • Rhymes: -ɔɪs

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