speaker
(ˈspiːkə(r))
Forms: 4–6 speker, 4–5 -ere, 5 spekar, speiker, 6 spiker, 6– speaker.
[f. speak v. + -er. Cf. OFris. (for)spreker (WFris. sprekker, NFris. spreeker, spreeger), MDu. (Du.) and MLG. (LG.) spreker, OHG. sprehhari, -eri (MHG. sprechære, G. sprecher).]
1. a. One who speaks or talks.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 8291 Þe foule wurde þe speker dereþ. 1388 Wyclif Ezek. ii. 1, Y herde the vois of a spekere. c 1400 Destr. Troy 5085 In speche may men spie the speker to know. 1485 Caxton Chas. Gt. 27 Whan one spake to hym, he remembred the manere for to compryse thentencyon of the spekar. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. ii. 260 b, It was laied..against hym, that he was a speaker of eiuill by Cæsar. 1565 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 394 Thair Majesteis sall require the spekar and delatar to gif his complaint or narratioun in writt. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 175 Malc. What's the newest griefe? Rosse. That of an houres age, doth hisse the speaker. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxvi. 222 It may bee understood sometimes of the Speaker. 1725 Watts Logic i. iv. §3 It implies both the Falshood of the Speech, and my Reproach and Censure of the Speaker. 1781 Cowper Hope 345 All speakers, yet all language at a loss. 1832 Brewster Nat. Magic vii. 162 The real speaker was a full-grown woman. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola ii. viii, She started up with anger in her eyes, and faced the speaker. |
b. spec. One who speaks formally before a number of persons; one who addresses an audience; an orator.
| c 1400 New Test. (Paues) Acts xiv. 11 Þei called..Poule Mercurye, for he was ledar ande spekar of þo worde. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxxxii. 254 ‘Syr,’ quod Gaulter, who was y⊇ fyrst speker, ‘me thynke he can scape none other wyse.’ 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, v. ii. 166 What? a speaker is but a prater, a Ryme is but a Ballad. 1780 Mirror No. 102, Some of our public speakers. 1828 Whately Rhet. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 262/1 The sentiments..which it is so important that the audience should feel towards the Speaker. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxii. IV. 744 He..had scarcely taken his seat when he attained a high place among parliamentary speakers. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xvii, When the speaker's voice ceased, a burst of applause came from the lips of the hearers. |
2. With distinguishing
adjs.:
a. Denoting moral character, tendency to talk, or manner of speaking, as
evil,
fair,
false,
great,
hasty,
short, etc.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxvi. 18 A wickid spekere delited is in his leghe. 1388 Wyclif Job xvi. 9 A fals spekere is reisid aȝens my face. a 1450 tr. De Imitatione ii. i. 41 Crist had aduersaries & suffrid shreude spekers. 1483 Cath. Angl. 353/2 A schort Speker, micrologus. A grete Speker,..grandiloquus. 1570 Levins Manip. 212 Great speaker, loquax. 1611 Bible Ps. cxl. 11 Let not an euill speaker bee established in the earth. 1656 Blount Glossogr. s.v. Sphinx, His unarticulate voice like that of a hasty speaker. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 66 The modest speaker is asham'd and griev'd T'engross a moment's notice. |
b. Denoting ability (or the want of it) in the use of speech.
† fair speaker, an orator.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxi. (Eugenia) 130 Quhat poetis seis, or fare spekaris. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 141 Þat was a noble spekere in all manere tonges of witt and of wisdom, and cheef spekere wiþ tonge. c 1400 Destr. Troy 3806 A freike þat was fre, and a feire speiker. c 1440 Alph. Tales 236 A passand fayr man & a riche, & ane eloquent speker. 1484 Caxton Fables of Alfonce vii, A rethoryque man or fayr speker. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. ii. 111 The Gentleman is Learn'd, and a most rare Speaker. 1720 Pope Iliad xix. 86 Unruly murmurs, or ill-timed applause, Wrong the best speaker, and the justest cause. 1778 F. Burney Evelina lxxvii, We of the Lower House..have likewise the most able speakers. 1831 Sir J. Sinclair Corr. II. 108 The Count de Villele was not only an able speaker, but a real statesman. 1865 Dickens Lett. (1880) II. 247 Almost the worst speaker I ever heard in my life. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus xlix. 1 Greatest speaker of any born a Roman, Marcus Tullius. |
3. a. The member of the House of Commons who is chosen by the House itself to act as its representative and to preside over its debates. Also called
Mr. Speaker and
† Speaker-forth.
In 1376–7 Sir Thomas de Hungerford,
app. the first person formally mentioned as holding the office, ‘avoit les paroles pur les Communes d'Engleterre en cest Parlement’ (
Rolls of Parlt. II. 374/1).
| c 1400 Brut 330 Þis same Piers was chosen to be speker for the communes in þe parlement. 1414 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 22 The sentence & the entente axked by the Speker mouthe. c 1435 Chron. Lond. (1905) 50 Sir John Cheyne excusid him ffor the Speker fforth ffor the Comvnes, ffor dyuers Infirmites..that he hadde. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. (1811) 486 Wherfore the sayde commons prayed by the mouth of theyr speker [etc.]. a 1577 Sir T. Smith Commw. Eng. ii. ii. (1584) 40 The speakers office is as brieflie and as plainely as he may to declare the effect thereof to the house. 1641 King's Sp. to Parlt. 2 Dec., It is no ways in Answer to Master Speakers learned Speech. 1654 Whitelock Mem. (1732) 52 [The king] himself entred into the house; at which the speaker rose out of his chair, and stood below. 1707 J. Chamberlayne Pres. St. Gt. Brit. i. ii. (1708) 114 Before the choice of a Speaker, all the Members of the House of Commons take the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy. 1741 Johnson's Debates (1787) II. i. 4 The new House of Commons being met, the Usher came from the House of Lords, with His Majesty's commands for their immediate attendance, when they were ordered to chuse a Speaker. 1818 Evans' Parl. Deb. 16 On a message from the lords, Mr. Speaker and several members attended to hear the speech of the lords commissioners read by the Lord Chancellor. 1840 Penny Cycl. XVII. 274/2 As yet he is only Speaker elect, and as such presents himself on the following day, in the house of lords. 1901 Courtney Working Const. U.K. 90 If any vacancy occurs whilst Parliament is in existence, a writ is issued by Mr. Speaker. |
| fig. 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. (1860) 7 The chiefe actor in the pageant of my braine, and high speaker in the Parlament of my deuise. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. ii. 18 The Speaker in his Parliament;..th'imagine Voyce of Heauen it selfe. |
b. More fully in
Speaker of (the) Parliament.
| 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. (Rolls) 230 It was answerd be Petir de la Mar, Knyte, and Speker of the Parlement. a 1500 Bale's Chron. in Six Town Chron. (1911) 136 And the comones chosen Sir William Oldhall Knight w{supt} þe duk of york speker of the parliament. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Demiurgus,..an officer that proposed all thinges to the people whervpon they should intreate: as the speaker of the parliament amonge vs. 1696 Phillips (ed. 5), Speaker of the Parliament, an Officer in that High Court, who is as it were the common mouth of all the rest. |
c. The presiding officer or chairman of the House of Lords, now the Lord Chancellor, or one acting as his deputy or substitute. Also
† Lord Speaker.
| 1660 Pepys Diary 26 April, I hear, that about twelve of the Lords met and had chosen my Lord of Manchester Speaker of the House of Lords. 1687 Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., The one [is] termed the Lord Speaker of the House of Peers, and the other the Speaker of the House of Commons. 1707 J. Chamberlayne Pres. St. Gt. Brit. (1710) 96 The Lord Chancellor or Keeper (who usually is Speaker of the House of Lords). 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XIII. 761/2 The speaker of the house of lords..is the lord chancellor,..or any other appointed by the king's commission [etc.]. 1867 Chambers's Encycl. IX. 24/2 The Speaker of the Lords may speak or vote on any question. 1891 Law Times XCII. 123/2 The Lord Chancellor need not be a member of the House of Lords of which he is the Speaker. |
d. A similar president in other assemblies.
| 1656 Blount Glossogr., Proloquutor,..the Speaker or Chair-man of each Convocation-house, or of a Synod, is so termed. 1728 S. Jeake Charters Cinque Ports 91 In both these Courts,..the Head Officer..sits as Chief, and is called in Speeches addressed to him Mr. Speaker. 1789 Constit. U.S. i. §2 The house of representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers. |
4. One who speaks in place of, or on behalf of, another or others.
| 1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus G j, Princes you know in parliament houses haue their speakers, to declare their pleasures, and ease themselues. 1782 J. Brown Nat. & Rev. Relig. ii. ii. (1796) 129 He is the great Speaker for us to God, in his ancient engagements and his continual intercession. |
5. One who proclaims or celebrates.
rare—1.
| 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iv. ii. 70 After my death, I wish..No other speaker of my liuing Actions,..But such an honest Chronicler as Griffith. |
6. As a title of books containing pieces adapted for recitation or reading aloud.
| 1774 W. Enfield (title), The Speaker; or, miscellaneous Pieces, selected from the best English Writers. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Speaker,..a book for school-reading. 1879 Webster Suppl., Speaker, a book containing selected pieces for declamation. (U.S.) |
7. As second element: One who speaks a particular language.
| 1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth of Lang. iv. 72 The difficulty is one which English-speakers can hardly realize. 1899 Daily News 2 Oct. 6/4 A population of industrial English-speakers;..a population of pastoral Dutch-speakers. |
8. = loud-speaker.
| 1926 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. CCII. 436 This speaker employs a six-inch cone driven by an electromagnetic power unit. 1954 R. Dahl Someone like You 66 Maybe the great radio engineer doesn't know how to connect the mike to the speaker? 1978 Hi-Fi News Sept. 15 (Advt.), High Fidelity speakers for the discerning ear. |
9. attrib. and
Comb., as (sense 8)
speaker grille,
speaker system;
speaker-hearer, a person regarded as a user of language;
speaker-key, a key fitted to a wind instrument to enable the playing of notes an octave or a twelfth higher (
cf. octave key s.v. octave n. (a.) 8);
speaker-listener = speaker-hearer above;
speaker-phone U.S., a telephone receiver which need not be held in the hand;
Speaker's Conference, a conference, first set up in 1916, whose purpose is to examine electoral law and reform under the chairmanship of the Speaker of the House of Commons;
Speakers' Corner, the north-east corner of Hyde Park, near Marble Arch, noted as a place where soap-box orators traditionally air their views; also
transf.| 1979 P. Way Sunrise iv. 44 There was a bell push and a *speaker-grille just above it. |
| 1965 N. Chomsky Aspects of Theory of Syntax i. 4 To study actual linguistic performance, we must consider the interaction of a variety of factors, of which the underlying competence of the *speaker-hearer is only one. 1982 Amer. Speech LVII. 16 He must ultimately be willing to make claims about this base with respect to a speaker-hearer's capabilities. |
| 1890 D. J. Blaikley Acoustics in Relation to Wind Instruments 31 In one direction advantage is taken..to aid the player in producing certain notes, notably on the clarionet; the thumb,—or *speaker-key of which is designedly used to open a small air-way, thereby introducing a weak place, by which means certain sub-divisions of the air column are aided, and certain others are hindered. 1972 S. Richmond Clarinet & Saxophone Experience vi. 104 By pressing the speaker key for the second harmonic all notes will sound an octave higher. |
| 1965 N. Chomsky Aspects of Theory of Syntax i. 3 Linguistic theory is concerned primarily with an ideal *speaker-listener, in a completely homogeneous speech-community. 1978 Archivum Linguisticum IX. 10 The ideal speaker-listener of generative theory. |
| 1955 Sun (Baltimore) 29 July 8/6 The new ‘hands-free’ *Speakerphones enable you to take notes, refer to records, have others in the room with you join in the telephone conversation. 1968 Time 5 Apr. 54 Emerson, a municipal court judge in Downey, Calif., finds the speakerphone invaluable for getting a brief piece of testimony from a policeman, parole officer or technical expert. |
| [1916 Times 16 Dec. 9/5 The Speaker's Electoral Reform Conference is for the moment in suspense.] 1917 Times 18 Jan. 9/5 The recommendations of the *Speaker's Conference on Electoral Reform. 1974 Times 5 Mar. 2/3 Electoral reform has always been a matter for Parliament itself, expressing its view by means of free votes on recommendations by a Speaker's Conference. 1980 Guardian 18 Feb. 3/7 The last Speaker's Conference on electoral law, which met between 1972 and 1974, recommended..that the minimum age for standing for Parliament should be reduced. |
| 1936 J. C. Goodwin One of Crowd xix. 271 *Speakers' Corner is a mixed grill of apostles and propagators, of oddities and crudities, of fanatics and eccentrics. 1953 Earl Winterton Orders of Day xxii. 313 ‘Speakers' Corner’ in Hyde Park. 1982 Times 16 Mar. 10/2 The crypt of St Paul's cathedral is regaining some of its historical reputation as an ecclesiastical Speakers' Corner. |
| 1938 C. Himes Black on Black (1973) 172 A *speaker system was installed to throw his powerful voice even farther. 1974 Times 4 Mar. 1/8 At about 4.40 pm the hijacker in the cockpit announced over the speaker system that the aircraft would be landing at Amsterdam. |
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speaker cabinet n. a cabinet which holds a loudspeaker, and sometimes other home audio equipment (
cf. cabinet n. 5a); (now more usually) a robust box-like casing containing one or more loudspeakers, used
esp. in the amplification of an electric musical instrument, as part of the public address system at a concert, etc.
| 1925 Los Angeles Times 25 Oct. i. 11/2 (advt.), 3-tube radio in handsome *speaker cabinet. 1958 Times 21 Nov. 16/1 (advt.) Legs are optional: speaker cabinets can be wall-mounted if you wish. 1969 Bensenville (Illinois) Reg. 14 Nov. (Want ads section) a/6 Kingston bass guitar, $50. Also speaker cabinet 2–15' Utah speakers, $100. 1999 C. Welch Close to Edge (2003) i. 1 Yes are in the throes of a thunderous performance, their music cascading around them from dozens of speaker cabinets. |