voice

voice [vois]

n.

[ME < OFr vois < L vox (gen. vocis), a voice < IE base * wekw-, to speak > Sans vákti, (he) speaks, Gr ossa, ōps, voice, OE woma, noise]

1. sound made through the mouth, esp. by human beings in talking, singing, etc.

2. the ability to make sounds orally or to speak, sing, etc. [to lose one's voice]

3.

a) any sound regarded as like vocal utterance [the voice of the sea]

b) anything regarded as like vocal utterance in communicating to the mind [the voice of one's conscience]

4. a specified condition, quality, or tone of vocal sound [an angry voice]

5. the characteristic speech sounds normally made by a particular person [to recognize someone's voice over the phone]

6.

a) an expressed wish, choice, opinion, etc. [the voice of the people]

b) the right to express one's wish, choice, opinion, etc., or to make it prevail; vote [to have a voice in one's government]

7. utterance or expression [giving voice to his joy]

8. the person or other agency by which something is expressed or made known [a newspaper known to be the voice of the administration]

9. Gram.

a) a characteristic of verbs, expressed in some languages by inflection, indicating the relation of the subject to the action of the verb either as agent (active voice), recipient ( passive voice), or both, as in reflexives ( middle voice); also, an analytic category based on this characteristic

b) any of the forms a verb takes to indicate this characteristic

10. Music

a) musical sound made with the mouth; singing

b) the quality of a particular person's singing [a good voice]

c) a singer

d) any of the individual parts sung or played together in a musical composition

11. Phonet. sound made by vibration of the vocal cords with air forced from the lungs, as in the articulation of all vowels and such consonants as (b), (d), (g), and (m)

vt.

voiced, voicing

1. to give utterance or expression to; utter or express in words

2. Music

a) to regulate the tone of (organ pipes, etc.)

b) to arrange (notes of a chord) or distribute notes to (instruments) so as to achieve a particular harmonic sound

3. Phonet. to utter with voice

SYN.- UTTER²

——————

in voice

with the voice in good condition, as for singing

——————

with one voice

unanimously

voicer

n.