orator

[awr-uh-ter, or-] /ˈɔr ə tər, ˈɒr-/
noun
1.
a person who delivers an oration; a public speaker, especially one of great eloquence:
Demosthenes was one of the great orators of ancient Greece.
2.
Law. a plaintiff in a case in a court of equity.
Origin
1325-75; < Latin ōrātor speaker, suppliant, equivalent to ōrā(re) (see oration) + -tor -tor; replacing Middle English oratour < Anglo-French < Latin, as above
Related forms
oratorlike, adjective
oratorship, noun
Examples from the web for orator
  • The press, instead of displacing the orator, has given him a larger audience and enabled him to do a more extended work.
  • The epistles of the great orator and politician offer both personal insight and policy initiative.
  • The orator has a high reputation for eloquence and intellectual grasp.
  • We were looking for a strong leader and got a good orator with no principled positions.
  • He was a skilled lawyer, a renowned orator, and a member of the president's inner circle.
  • The orator discussed such fascinating things as teleportation and a new, sixth state of matter.
  • He was a skilled orator and was often called to speak at local events.
  • He was not an orator, but he could tell what he knew in a pleasing way.
  • Corwin was an effective orator and was known for his wit, eloquence, and fiery debates.
  • For an old-fashioned orator, there could have been no more appropriate final stage exit.
British Dictionary definitions for orator

orator

/ˈɒrətə/
noun
1.
a public speaker, esp one versed in rhetoric
2.
a person given to lengthy or pompous speeches
3.
(obsolete) the claimant in a cause of action in chancery
Word Origin and History for orator
n.

late 14c., "one who pleads or argues for a cause," from Anglo-French oratour (Modern French orateur), from Latin orator "speaker," from orare "to speak, speak before a court or assembly, pray, plead," from PIE root *or- "to pronounce a ritual formula" (cf. Sanskrit aryanti "they praise," Homeric Greek are, Attic ara "prayer," Hittite ariya- "to ask the oracle," aruwai- "to revere, worship"). Meaning "public speaker" is attested from early 15c.

Encyclopedia Article for orator

the rationale and practice of persuasive public speaking. It is immediate in its audience relationships and reactions, but it may also have broad historical repercussions. The orator may become the voice of political or social history.

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