▪ I. voice, n.
(vɔɪs)
Forms: α. 3–4 voiz (4 uoyz), 3–5 voys (5 uoys, 5–6 woys), 4–5 voise (4 uoise), 4–6 (7) voyse (5 woyse); 4–7 voyce (4 voysce, 5 voyc, 5–6 Sc. woyce), 4– voice (4 uoice, 4, 5–6 Sc., woice, 6 voic); also 5 wyce, 8–9 dial. vice. β. Sc. and north. 4–7 voce (5 uoce, 5–6 woce), 5, 7 vose, 6 vox, wox.
[a. AF. voiz, voice, OF. voiz, vois, voix (mod.F. voix, = Pr. votz, Sp. and Pg. voz, It. voce):—L. vōc-em, vox voice, sound.]
I. 1. Sound, or the whole body of sounds, made or produced by the vocal organs of man or animals in their natural action; esp. sound formed in or emitted from the human larynx in speaking, singing, or other utterance; vocal sound as the vehicle of human utterance or expression. Also occas., the faculty or power of producing this; or concretely, the organs by which it is produced. a. With the, or with limiting terms as man's.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 11420 Þis ilk stern..said to þaim wit mans woice, Þat þai suld wend to Juen land. c 1350 Will. Palerne 40 Þe son of þe cry com to þe cowherde euene, Þat he wist witerly it was þe voys of a childe. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 83 Þe voys þat þey makeþ is liker to an houndes berkynge þan to a manis voys. 1398 ― Barth. De P.R. v. xxiii. (Bodl. MS.), To schape þe voice aier is ifonge in þe leues of þe lungen. 1580 J. Hay Demandes §17 in Cath. Tract. (S.T.S.) 39 The trew intelligence..and nocht the outward sounding of the woce. 1587 Golding De Mornay v. 59 There is..a dubble Speech; the one in the mynd,..the other the sounding image thereof,..vttered by our mouth and..termed the Speech of the Voyce. 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 838 Plato defineth the Voice to be a spirit. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. ii. 95 They that haue the voyce of Lyons, and the act of Hares: are they not Monsters? 1655 Vaughan Silex Scint., Holy Script. ii, Thou [the Bible] art the great Elixir rare and choice; The Word in Characters, God in the Voice. 1710 M. Henry Disputes Reviewed Wks. 1853 II. 464/1 When the temper is not kept within due bounds, commonly the voice is not. 1780 W. Shaw (title) A Galic and English Dictionary. Containing all the Words in the Scotch and Irish Dialects of the Celtic, that could be collected from the Voice, and Old Books and MSS. 1831 Youatt Horse viii. 152 The voice of animals is produced by the passage of air through this aperture. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXIV. 154/1 Speaking-pipes, or tubes to convey the voice from one place to another. 1889 Ruskin Præterita III. 162 The Voice is the eternal musical instrument of heaven and earth, from angels down to birds. |
b. Without article.
Occas. put for ‘musical voice’, ‘power of singing’:
cf. quots. 1667 and 1697.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 17840 And als sun þai spak wit woice. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 75 Among alle þingis vois is a freel þing. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. xx. 67 See howe my sone..bymeneth hym in herte chere and voys. 1444 Aberdeen Regr. (1844) I. 12 He sal vphald the ladymesse with uoce on Twisdai, Thurisdai, and Fridai ilke owke for a yher. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. xlviii. 119 So I teche wiþoute voice of wordes, wiþoute confusion of opinyons. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xlviii. 162 Thane all the birdis song with voce on hicht. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 124 Seing wraith without ony voce of worde is appointed to iudgement, wraith in voce is appointed to a councel quhairin sentence is pronunced. 1594 Kyd Cornelia iii. i. 132 These are..melancholie showes, That..counterfet the dead in voyce and figure. 1608 Topsell Serpents 134 A vocal iustice, which speaketh in action though not in voyce. 1666–7 Pepys Diary 12 Feb., I confess I was mightily pleased with the musique. He pretends not to voice; though it be good, but not excellent. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 70 Hollow Rocks that render back the Sound, And doubled Images of Voice rebound. 1697 ― Virg. Past. v 10 Your merit and your years command the choice: Amyntas only rivals you in voice. 1721 Bailey, Aphony, a want of voice. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v., That Canal,..which at first pass'd for the principal Organ of Voice. ? 1780 Cowper Cricket 17 Though in voice and shape they be Form'd as if akin to thee. 1828 Whately Rhet. in Encycl. Metrop. I. 295/1 To observe all the modulations, &c. of voice, which take place in such a delivery. 1872 Huxley Physiol. vii. 184 Thus, voice may exist without speech, and..speech may exist without voice, as in whispering. 1884 F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer I. 2 He had so much voice that he did not know what to do with it. |
| transf. and fig. 1815 Scott Waterloo i, We yet may hear the hour Peal'd over orchard and canal, With voice prolong'd and measured fall. 1817 ― Harold iii. vi, From realms afar Comes voice of battle and of war. |
c. With
adjs. denoting the quality or tone. Chiefly
with or
in..voice.
Cf. 6 c.
| 13.. K. Alis. 3850 (Laud MS.), And hem he seide wiþ voice clere Ich bidde frendes þat ȝe me here. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 4853 (Kölbing), Ten com bihinde..Wiþ loude voice & to hem gradde. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 584 With styf voys [he] hym called, Lazare, veni foras. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 140 Therfor criet the pepill, har kynge and his good werkes with hey woyce commendid and preisit. c 1460 Oseney Reg. 18 Hit shall be lefull to yow..in lowe voice to saye diuine seruice. a 1500 Lancelot 13 Throw birdis songe with opine wox one hy, That sessit not one luffaris for to cry. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 5588 [An angel shall cry] With hydous voce, and vehement,—Ryse, [etc.]. a 1609 A. Hume Poems (S.T.S.) 15 When I waill with weeping vose, Lord, to my plaint give eare. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 37 Methought Close at mine ear one call'd me forth to walk With gentle voice. 1812 Cary Dante, Purg. xxv. 24 At the hymn's close They shouted loud, ‘I do not know a man’; Then in low voice again took up the strain. 1819 Shelley Cenci v. iv. 9 Muttering with hoarse, harsh voice. |
d. in (..) voice. Of persons: Having the voice or vocal organs in fit or good condition for speaking or singing. So
out of voice.
| 1757 Foote Author Epil., O! Such a Sustinuto upon B! Ma'am, when she's quite in Voice she'll go to C. 1760–2 Goldsm. Cit. W. lxxi, You know very well..that I am not in voice [for singing] to-day. 1826 Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) II. 285 Owing to a cold..I was, as the players call it, not in very good voice. 1868 Dickens Lett. (1880) II. 391, I was in wonderful voice last night, but croak a little this morning. 1884 ‘Edna Lyall’ We Two xxvi, I am afraid my wife is quite out of voice. |
| transf. 1883 E. Pennell-Elmhirst Cream Leicestersh. 253 Hounds were in full voice, and several foxes in full flight almost immediately. |
e. The sound of voices. (In
quot., of birds.)
| 1831 James Phil. Augustus I. ii, The earth was full of flowers, and the woods full of voice. |
f. Utterance or expression (of feeling, etc.). Chiefly in phrases, as
to give voice to,
to find voice in.
| 1855 Arnold Haworth Churchyard v, Hail to the courage which gave Voice to its creed. 1885 ‘E. Garrett’ At Any Cost xiv. 255 Tom had been unable to suppress sundry conjectures.., but he had never given them voice. 1906 Sinton Poetry Badenoch Introd. p. xxxv, There was always plenty of hero-worship, which found voice in song. |
g. Phonology. Sound uttered with vibration or resonance of the vocal chords, as distinguished from
breath 10.
| 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 429/2 The consonants are conveniently classed into those with and those without voice. 1888 Sweet Eng. Sounds 18 The relations of breath and voice in consonants are mainly determined by their surroundings. Ibid. 89 The intermediate change of voice to whisper is very common. |
2. † a. The supremacy or upper hand in a struggle.
Obs.—1 Employed merely for the sake of rime.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 21694 Quen þat þai faght..And moises held his hand o-loft, To-quils he heild his hend on croice, Ai haid his aun folk þe voice. |
b. The right or privilege of speaking or voting in a legislative assembly, or of taking part in, or exercising control or influence over, some particular matter; part or share in the control, government, or deciding of something. Chiefly in
phr. to have (or † bear)..voice in.
Cf. 10 d.
App. not in common use from the end of the 17th c. to the latter part of the 19th.
| 1433 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 479/2 Not to be made free, ne herde, ne bere no voice in no maner assemble of the seid Comyns. 1503–4 Act 19 Hen. VII, c. 27 §11 No merchaunt..[shall] bere eny voyce ne have eny sayngs in eny Courte..wythin oure seid Staple. 1525 in Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 1527 (1883) 97 That he be chosin be fremen, and na servandis till have voce amangis maisteris in ony materis. 1581 Allen Apologie 38 b, The Parliament is a mere temporal Court, the Bishops them selues hauing voice there no otherwise but as Barons of the Realme. 1666 in J. Bulloch Pynours (1887) 70 The Master of Impost..to have voce and consent of the distribution of the moneyes belonging thervnto. 1697 View Penal Laws 323 Persons having Voice or Vote to such Election. 1780 Cowper Progr. Error 45 Man, thus endued with an elective voice, Must be supplied with objects of his choice. 1873 Helps Anim. & Mast. v. (1875) 114 If we had more voice in the management of affairs. 1884 Manch. Exam. 28 May 5/2 Some voice Europe will insist upon having in the political disposal of Egypt. 1889 Jessopp Coming of Friars iv. 185 The parishioners had more voice in the matter than they have now. |
† c. to give voice to, to vote for.
Obs.| 1566 in Fowler Hist. C.C.C. (O.H.S.) 112 Item, he gave voyce to himselfe in the graunte of lease to him selfe, for the which lease he gave no fine at all. |
3. a. The expressed opinion, judgement, will, or wish
of the people, a number of persons, a corporate body, etc.,
occas. as indicated or shown by the exercise of the suffrage; now
freq. in the names of radio stations supposedly representing national or local opinion.
Cf. 10.
In some instances not clearly distinct from 4.
| 1390 Gower Conf. Prol. I. 7 The world is changed overal,..And that I take to record Of every lond for his partie The comun vois, which may noght lie. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2886 For peples vois is goddes voys, men seyne. c 1470 Henry Wallace vi. 909 With the great seill, and woice off hys parliament. 1528 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. IV. 426 [Order made] by the consent of Mr. Recordar, and the ballyffes with the holl voyce of the town then being present. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V, 62 The whole voice of the commons was to yelde, yeld, rather then starue. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. ii. 88 A President..in committing freely Your scruple to the voyce of Christendome. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. xvi. 82 The voyce of the greater number, must be considered as the voyce of them all. 1653 W. Ramesey Astrol. Restored To Rdr. 3 Let no man..be so weak as..[to] conclude ought against it either by Tradition or the common Voice of the World. 1711 Swift Cond. Allies 78 It is the Folly of too many, to mistake the Eccho of a London Coffee-house for the Voice of the Kingdom. 1775 W. H. Drayton in R. W. Gibbes Doc. Hist. Amer. Revol. (1855) I. 181 These men..have practised every art, fraud, and misrepresentation, to raise in this Province an opposition to the voice of America. 1780 Mirror No. 77 Before the trial of an atrocious criminal, the unanimous voice of the Public is, that he should be led out to punishment. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. iv. i, It is the voice of all France, the Sound that rises. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 167 Recalled by the voice of both the contending factions, he was the very man to arbitrate between them. 1877 Tennyson Harold ii. ii, I will be king of England by the laws, The choice, and voice of England. 1925 Country Gentleman 22 Aug. 14/1 If you tune in on WSB any evening at 8 or 10:45, you hear ‘The voice of the South’—the Atlanta Journal. 1932 G. B. Shaw Platform & Pulpit (1962) 246 Mussolini is the most responsible ruler in Europe because he gives his orders with his own voice and not through an imaginary megaphone called ‘The Voice of the Italian People’. Mr MacDonald's voice is a National Voice. 1942 N.Y. Times 9 Oct. 19/1 With all the short-wave stations under control of two Federal agencies.., it is expected that ‘the Voice of America’ will tell more nearly the same story. 1956 B.B.C. Handbk. 1957 132 The violently anti-British station, ‘The Voice of the Arabs’. 1959 Listener 24 Sept. 490/2 In war time the Continental European and British colleagues broadcasting from Bush House, London, to Europe, represented not only ‘the voice of London’ but the true voice of the nations under Hitler's occupation. 1962 E. Snow Other Side of River (1963) vi. 51 The main building had a hundred large rooms, each with modern bath and each with an all-wave radio set; on mine I heard the Voice of America from Manila and United States Army broadcasts from Tokyo. 1970 D. Caute Fanon iv. 51 In 1956 the Voice of Free Algeria came on the air and within twenty days..the entire stock of radio sets was sold out. 1982 T. Keneally Schindler's Ark xxxvii. 397 The radio technicians..listened with an earphone to the 2 p.m. news, from the Voice of London. |
b. Without
of. Now usually with defining
adj., as
general,
popular,
public, prefixed (
b).
| (a) 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 17 Hakon, Hernebald sonne, of best he bare þe voice, In stede of Kynges banere he did him bere þe croice. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. ii. 113 Whatsoeuer cunning fiend it was That wrought vpon thee so preposterously Hath got the voyce in hell for excellence. 1603 B. Jonson Sejanus iv. v, I feare, you wrong him. He has the voyce to be an honest Romane. 1628 Earle Microcosm. (Arb.) 70 [He] cries Chaucer for his Money aboue all our English Poets, because the voice ha's gone so. 1703 Rowe Ulyss. ii. i, So shall the Voice in Ithaca be for you. 1787 Washington Lett. Writ. 1891 XI. 181 note, Thus stands the matter at present in this State. I think nevertheless the voice is for it. |
| (b) 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. v. iii. 140 Lucius our Emperour: for well I know, The common voyce do cry it shall be so. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Epist. ii. ii. 150 Much I endure, when writing I would bribe The public Voice. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones iii. vii, The public voice..seldom reaches to a brother or a husband, though it rings in the ears of all the neighbourhood. 1773 Mrs. Chapone Improv. Mind (1774) II. 212, I believe the general voice will direct you to Hume. 1832 Tennyson Œnone 82 To me, by common voice Elected umpire, Herè comes to-day. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 123 While the king was thus trying to terrify the lords of articles into submission, the popular voice encouraged them to persist. |
† 4. a. That which is generally or commonly said; general or common talk; rumour or report.
Obs. Freq. in the 16th c., often with
common.
| c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) vii. 27 Þe comoun voice es þare þat þai er þe bernes of Joseph. ? 1462 Paston Lett. II. 107 It is my part to enfourme youre maistirshyp as the comoun voyse is,..for it is half a deth to me to here the generall voyse of the pepyll, whiche dayli encreassyth. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccclxxxiv. 651 In this meane tyme voyce and bruyte ranne through London, howe these vnhappy people were lykely to sle the kynge [etc.]. a 1568 Satir. Poems Reform. xlvii. 12 Grit foulis ȝe were with fallowis to defeme hir, Havand na causs bot commoun voce and sklander. 1577 F. de L'isle's Legendarie K viij, The voyce went the same time..that there was a letter..sent into Normandy, conteining these wordes. 1607 in Birch Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) I. 70 All Sunday it was current that the parliament did hold, but now the voice runs otherwise. a 1639 Wotton Let. in Reliq. (1651) 429 Doctour Belcanquel..shall (as the voice goeth) be removed to the Deanrie of Durham. 1652 Howell Giraffi's Rev. Naples ii. 100 The next day the voice went up and down, that..they intended to introduce Forreign force. |
† b. A piece of common or general talk; a report or rumour.
Obs.| 1463 in Sc. Acts, Jas. III (1874) XII. 30/1 Þe kingis declaratioun..quhilk..þai hald sufficiant to purge þe said Alexander..of þe said voice and Rumor. 1538 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. II. 98 Ther ys a voyce that yt shulde be the Duchys of Myllayn. a 1540 Barnes Wks. (1573) 330/1 There runneth a great voyce of mee, that I haue maried a wife. 1619 in Birch Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) II. 156 There is a voice, that my Lord North sets forth four ships. 1639 Wotton Lett. (1907) II. 410 We have a new strange voice flying here, that the Prince Palatine is towards a marriage. 1652 Howell Giraffi's Rev. Naples ii. 100 The sound of this voice went up to the Castle. |
† c. Fame or renown
of something.
Obs.| c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 1138 Sum off thaim said, the queyn luffyt Wallace, For the gret woice off his hie nobilnes. 1600 Holland Livy xxviii. xlvi. 707 His power increased dayly; for that the Frenchmen flocked unto him from all parts, upon the noyse and voyce of his name. |
5. Gram. The form of a verb by which the relation of the subject to the action implied is indicated; one or other of the modes of inflecting or varying a verb according to the distinctions of
active,
passive, or
middle.
In
quot. 1591 used instead of ‘person’.
| 1382 Wyclif Prol. 57 A participle of a present tens, either preterit, of actif vois, eithir passif. 1591 Percival Span. Dict. C 2 By changing e of the future of the Indicatiue into ia, you make the third voice of the preterimperfect tense of the Subiunctiue. 1612 Brinsley Pos. Parts (1615) 20 b, Giue the terminations of the first Persons of the Actiue voice alone. a 1653 Gouge Comm. Heb. vi. 1 The word ϕερώµεθα, translated ‘Let us go on’, is of the passive voice. 1678 [see passive a. 3]. 1706 J. Stevens Sp. Dict., Sp. Gram. 15 Participle of the Present Tense and Active Voice. 1765– [see active a. 3]. 1772 A. Adam Gram. (1793) 20 Voice expresses the different circumstances in which we consider an object, whether as acting, or being acted upon. 1841 Latham Eng. Lang. 12 The characteristic..of..the Scandinavian languages is the possession of a Passive Form, or a Passive Voice, ending in st. 1858 C. P. Mason Eng. Gram. §180 By means either of a verb in the active voice, or of a verb in the passive voice. 1871 [see middle a. 4 a]. |
II. 6. In limited sense: The sounds naturally made by a single person or animal in speech or other form of vocal utterance; these sounds regarded as characteristic of the person and as distinguishing him from another or others; also
freq., the individual organic means or capacity of producing such sounds.
a. In usages where this sound is taken to represent the person or being who utters it, or is regarded apart from the utterer. Freq. with verbs of saying, introducing the words uttered.
| c 1290 St. Francis 54 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 55 Þo spac a voiz þare-inne [the cross] wel Mildeliche and solte, And seide, ‘Fraunceys, go þe forth’ [etc.]. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5750 A voys sede as hym þoȝte þes wordes..as he vel adoun. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 16633 Til þe kyng Alayn he spak, And teld hym what þe vois had seyd. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 260 A voice loude in þat liȝte to lucifer cryeth. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. lxxxiii, And there-with-all apperit vnto me A voce, and said, ‘tak hede, man, and behold’. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xi. vi. 580 He herd a voys that said go hens thow syre Bors. 1526 Tindale Acts x. 13 And a voyce spake vnto hym from heven: Ryse Peter Kyll and eate. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VII, 2 Men commonly reporte that..it was by a heauenly voyce reueled to Cadwalader.. that [etc.]. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iii. vii. 36 Some..hurld vp their Caps, And some tenne voyces cry'd ‘God saue King Richard’. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. ¶2 A voyce forsooth was heard from heauen, saying: Now is poison poured down into the Church, &c. 1637 Milton Lycidas 132 Return Alpheus, the dread voice is past, That shrunk thy streams. 1667 ― P.L. iv. 167 There had I fixt Mine eyes till now..Had not a voice thus warnd me. 1718 Rowe tr. Lucan i. 462 In secret murmurs thus they sought relief, While no bold voice proclaim'd aloud their grief. 1725 Watts Logic ii. v. §1 Proof of divine Revelation by Visions, Voices, or Miracles. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxx, ‘It is I’, replied the voice. 1820 Shelley Prometh. Unb. ii. i. 191 In the world unknown Sleeps a voice unspoken. 1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc's Hist. Ten Y. I. 423 ‘I second that proposal’, exclaimed a voice. 1871 Tennyson Last Tourn. 756 About his feet A voice clung sobbing till he question'd it, ‘What art thou?’ and the voice about his feet Sent up an answer, sobbing, ‘I am thy fool’. |
b. In ordinary use, with
a,
the,
this, etc., or more
freq. with possessives.
The Biblical passage illustrated by
quot. 1382 has had some echo in recent use.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 8904 And þan bigan sco for to cri Als wit a voce o propheci. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 7490 As sone as he hadde made þe croyce, Þe bryde flegh furþ, and left hys voys. 1382 Wyclif Gen. xxvii. 22 The vois forsothe is the vois of Jacob, but the hondis ben the hondis of Esau. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 56 Þan cometh and crieth her owen kynde dame, And þey [the young partridges] ffolwith þe vois at þe ffrist note. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 31 Crie, cese not, vphauns þi vois os a trompe. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 218 Compleyne your woice unto the God abuffe. 1513 Douglas æneid i. vi. 173 Quhy grantis thou nocht we may joine hand in hand, And for to heir and rendir vocis trew? 1577 Googe tr. Heresbach's Husb. 149 Though the Swyne wil roame at the knowen voyce of theyr swyneheard. 1609 Douland Ornith. Microl. 5 The sound of a sensible creature is properly called a Voyce, for things without sence haue no Voyce. 1647 Cowley Mistr., Despair i, Beneath this gloomy shade, By Nature only for my sorrows made I'll spend this voyce in crys. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. x. 111 Now let us rise, for Hoarseness oft invades The Singer's Voice, who sings beneath the Shades. 1726 Swift Gulliver ii. viii, I admired as much at the voices of him and his men who seemed to me only to whisper. 1791 Cowper Odyss. xii. 214 When with rapid course we had arriv'd Within such distance as a voice may reach. 1820 Keats Isabella vi, He inwardly did pray For power to speak; but still the ruddy tide Stifled his voice. 1831 James Phil. Augustus I. iii, He felt sure that he had stammered like a schoolboy, and spoken below his voice, like a young squire to an old knight. 1853 M. Arnold Forsaken Merman 12 Call her once before you go.—Call once yet! In a voice that she will know. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 872 The extremities become cool,..the voice sunk to a whisper, and the countenance Hippocratic. |
c. With
adjs. denoting the quality or tone (sometimes
spec. in respect of musical quality or power).
| 1382 Wyclif 1 Kings xviii. 28 Thanne thei crieden with a greet voys. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. cxxxi. (1495) nn iv b/1 The voyce that is dysposid to songe and melody hath thyse proprytees as Isyder sayth. Voyces he sayth ben smalle, subtyll, thicke, clere, sharpe & shylle. c 1400 Destr. Troy 12040 Vlixes..declaret hom þe cause with his clere voyc. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 439 And on a rewde maner he salutyd all the rout, With a bold voyse, carpyng wordys stout. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xlvi. 105 Than sang thay both with vocis lowd and cleir. 1560 Bible (Genev.) Ezek. xxxiii. 32 A iesting song of one that hathe a pleasant voice. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres 105 To talke modestly, stilly, and with low voices. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 161 His bigge manly voice, Turning againe toward childish trebble. Ibid. v. iii. 14 The onely prologues to a bad voice. 1623 Cockeram ii, A Voyce as strong as if it were the noise of 100 men, stentorian voice. 1637 Scotch Prayer Bk., Morn. Prayer, Then shall the Presbyter or Minister begin the Lords prayer with a loud voyce. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. viii. 20 And then..with a gentle Voice Instil this Precept at his list'ning Ear. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) III. 39 Besides painting [he] had a talent for music and a good voice. 1819 Stephens Shaw's Gen. Zool. XI. i. 127 White-bellied Goura..: it has a very disagreeable and mournful voice, which is repeatedly uttered. 1846 A. Marsh Father Darcy II. i. 32 ‘Come here, both of you’, says the lady, in a deep, awful voice. 1863 Kingsley Water-Bab. iii. 102 He..began chatting away in his squeaking voice. |
| transf. 1635 A. Stafford Fem. Glory (1869) 3 Whose due Praise the Catholike Church doth at this day solemnely sing, but with a more elevated Voyce. |
d. In or after Biblical phraseology,
esp. the voice of God. Chiefly in
fig. use and
freq. = ‘the expressed will or desire
of God, etc.; the divine command, ordinance, or word’.
| a 1325 Prose Ps. cv. 24 [cvi. 25] And hij..gruched in her tabernacles, and hij ne herd nouȝt þe voice of our Lord. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 174 And there I herde and understod The vois of god with wordes cliere. c 1400 Rule St. Benet Prol. 70 [= Hebr. iii. 7, 8] If þat ȝe here hys vose þis day, Turn noght ȝoure hertes fro hym oway—Bott tyll hys voce ȝe tak gude hede. 1563 Winȝet Wks. (S.T.S.) II. 7 That ony sentence in the haly Wreit is the voce and mynd of Christe. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 653 God so commanded, and left that Command Sole Daughter of his voice. 1691 Hartcliffe Virtues 371 The Voice of Nature is the Voice of God. 1730 Thomson Hymn 11 And oft thy voice in dreadful thunder speaks. 1781 W. Hawkins Ode St. Cecilia's Day i. Chorus 63 Music, essence holy, high,..Daughter of the voice of God. 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 474 They did violence to the majesty of the law, which was the very voice of God. 1870 J. H. Newman Gram. Assent ii. x. 398 As prayer is the voice of man to God, so Revelation is the voice of God to man. |
e. Used in reference to the expression of opinion or protest, or the issuing of a command.
| 1667 Milton P.L. i. 337 Yet to their Generals Voyce they soon obeyd Innumerable. 1720 Humourist 23 All the Time the Business of Scandal was handling, there was not one dissenting Voice to be heard in the whole Assembly. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 329 A convention..ratified the constitution without a dissenting voice. 1827 Scott Highl. Widow v, Here I will abide my fate; nor is there in Scotland a voice of power enough to bid me stir from hence, and be obeyed. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ix. II. 435 When the voice of a single powerful member of the Batavian federation might have averted an event fatal to all the politics of Lewis, no such voice was raised. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) VI. xviii. 140 The voice..from Exeter was a voice raised on behalf of the House of Godwine. |
f. to lose the (or one's) voice, to be (temporarily) deprived of the power of using the voice for singing or speaking.
| 1749 G. Lavington Enthus. Meth. & Papists ii. (1754) 34 A religious Nun,..famed for Skill in Music and a fine Voice, had her Voice lost by a Hoarseness for ten Years. 1822–7 Good Study Med. (1829) I. 546 In one case..the voice was merely much weakened;..in the other,..the voice was lost altogether. 1877 Roberts Handbk. Med. I. 353 Voice is completely lost, and cough becomes aphonic. |
7. In phrases.
a. with one († o, † a) voice, unanimously.
† Also
Sc. in one voice.
| (a) c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 15030 Alle wyþ o voys Songen þey þe Letanie. 1375 Barbour Bruce xii. 200 Vith ane voce all can thai cry—‘Gud king [etc.]. a 1400–50 Alexander 1000 Þan answard him with a voice all his proud princes. 1485 Caxton Chas. Gt. ii. 26 Al wyth one voys gaf to hym laude and honour. a 1500 Lancelot 3473 With o woys thay cry al, ‘sir knycht’ [etc.]. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 258 They with one minde and voyce gave a determinate aunswere. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 221 All the Greekish heads, which with one voyce Call Agamemnon Head and Generall. 1669 Dryden Tyrannic Love v. i, We, with one voice, salute you emperor. 1772 Junius Lett. lxviii. (1788) 357 With one voice they all condemn you. 1820 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 651 The nations..cried aloud, As with one voice, Truth, liberty, and love! 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 23 All the members demanded with one voice who it was who was charged with the crime. |
| (b) 1550 Abst. Protocols Town Clerks Glasgow (1894) I. 18 We the saidis devyderis..all in ane voce devyidis the said land and tenement as eftir followis. 1569 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 21 Sic boittis as the Lieutenentis in ane voce sall find gude to hald on the watter. 1604 in Chron. Perth, etc. (Maitl. Club) 69 The Session all in one voice finds the said Mr. William's proceedings orderly done. |
† b. at a voice, in accord or agreement, unanimous.
Obs.—1| 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) I. 144 Bes boþe at a voice, in one ȝour wille be mynde, To help þe Cristen men..Ageyn þe oste paen. |
† c. in my voice, in my name.
Obs. rare.
| 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. iv. 87 But what is, come see, And in my voice most welcome shall you be. 1603 ― Meas. for M. i. ii. 185 Implore her, in my voice, that she make friends To the strict deputy. |
8. a. The sound
of prayer, etc.
| a 1325 Prose Ps. cxxxix. 7 [cxl. 6] Here, Lord, þe voice of my prayere. 1388 Wyclif Ps. vi. 9 [8] The lord hath herd the vois of my wepyng. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 15 The vois of his preiynge, Which herd was to the goddes hihe. 1551 Bible Lev. v. 1 When a soule hath synned and herde y⊇ voyce of cursing. 1611 Bible Ps. xxxi. 22 Thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cryed vnto thee. 1784 Cowper Task v. 887 'Tis the voice of song—A loud hosanna sent from all thy works. 1791 ― Iliad xviii. 617 And sweet was heard The voice around of Hymenæal song. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. ix. 714 From that very moment, complaint was extinguished; and the voice of praise..occupied the vacant air. |
b. transf. A sound or sounds produced or emitted by something inanimate, as (
a) a stream, thunder, the wind, etc., or (
b) musical instruments.
| (a) a 1325 Prose Ps. xcii. 4 [xciii. 3] Þe flodes an-heȝed her voice. Ibid. 5 [4] Fram þe voices of mani waters. Ibid. ciii. 8 [civ. 7] Hij shul douten of þe voice of þy þonder. 1382 Wyclif Ps. xcii[i]. 3 The flodis rereden vp ther vois. Flodis rereden vp ther flowingis; fro the voises of manye watris. 1539 Bible (Great) Ps. lxxvii. 18 The voyce of thy thonder was hearde rounde aboute. 1611 Bible Isaiah lxvi. 6 A voice of noyse from the city, a voice from the Temple. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 443 With a roaring sound The rising Rivers float the nether Ground; And Rocks the bellowing Voice of boiling Seas rebound. 1784 Cowper Task i. 191 Upon the roar Of distant floods, or on the softer voice Of neighb'ring fountain. 1801 Scott Glenfinlas lx, The voice of thunder shook the wood. 1807 Wordsw. Sonn., Thought of a Briton, Two Voices are there; one is of the sea, One of the mountains; each a mighty Voice. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxvi. (1856) 211 The voices of the ice..are at this moment dinning in my ear. |
| (b) 1535 Coverdale 2 Chron. v. 13 Whan the voyce arose from y⊇ trompettes, cymbales and other instrumentes of musick. 1551 Bible Exod. xix. 16 The voyce of y⊇ horne waxed exceadynge lowde. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 257 Trumpet blow loud, Send thy Brasse voyce through all these lazie Tents. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 313 They must bee such as wil reioyce and gather stomacke at the voice of musicke, or trumpets. 1713 Addison Cato iii. iii, O Marcus, I am warm'd; my heart Leaps at the trumpet's voice, and burns for glory. 1820 Shelley Hymn Merc. lxxvii, The liquid voice Of pipes, that fills the clear air thrillingly. 1825 Longfellow Sunrise on Hills ii. 26 The wild horn, whose voice the woodland fills, Was ringing to the merry shout. 1841 Whittier Merrimac 66 Clearly on the calm air swells The twilight voice of distant bells. |
c. In figurative use.
In the second group with reference to conscience or duty.
| (a) 1382 Wyclif Gen. iv. 10 The vois of the blood of thi brother crieth to me fro the erthe. 1533 Gau Richt Vay 104 Ye voce of his blwid cryis..to ye hewine. 1732 Pope Hor. Sat. ii. ii. 99 Unworthy he, the voice of Fame to hear. 1750 Gray Elegy 43 Can Honour's voice provoke the silent dust? Ibid. 91 E'en from the tomb the voice of Nature cries. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xix. 162 He dreaded that the voice of truth should be heard. 1839 J. Yeowell Anc. Brit. Ch. ix. (1847) 90 Where the voice of tradition has been strong, unvarying, and continued. 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. iii. ii, Came it never,..like the voice of old Eternities, far-sounding through thy heart of hearts? |
| (b) 1784 Cowper Task v. 685 The still small voice is wanted. 1796 Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 389, I advised, that you should obey the voice of what we considered an indispensable duty. 1810 tr. Mme. Cottin's Chevalier de Versenai II. 110 That interior voice, that inflexible judge which speaks within us. 1870 J. H. Newman Gram. Assent i. v. 104 We are accustomed to speak of conscience as a voice. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 419 The voice of conscience, too, was heard, reminding the good man that he was not altogether innocent. |
d. A call or cry.
rare—1.
| 1657 S. Purchas Pol. Flying-Ins. i. v. 12 With two or three loud voyces Ceaseth all their disports,..untill the next morning when by a like voyce they have liberty given them to play. |
e. (The utterance of) an invisible guiding or directing spirit (merging with
fig. uses as sense 8 c). Chiefly
pl. direct voice: see
direct a. 7.
| 1911 G. B. Shaw Doctor's Dilemma i. 12 When my patients tell me that theyve made a greater discovery than Harvey, and that they hear voices, I lock them up. 1924 ― St. Joan p. xv, Joan must be judged a sane woman in spite of her voices because they never gave her any advice that might not have come to her from her mother wit. 1924 W. Holtby Crowded Street xxxv. 260 Things happen against our will. Always being driven and we follow—voices. 1956 ‘C. Blackstock’ Dewey Death vii. 166 Do you think, perhaps, I am mad? Will I hear voices? 1973 A. Morice Death & Dutiful Daughter vi. 65, I ought to check up... My voices tell me that all is not..plain sailing there... Still, I may be wrong. 1975 ‘J. Lymington’ Spider in Bath ii. 30 A voice come to me in the night... Me Mum used to 'ave voices. Told 'er all sort er things. |
† 9. a. A word or number of words uttered or expressed in speech; a phrase, sentence, or speech; a discourse or report.
Obs.| 13.. Cursor Mundi 3806 (Gött.), And oyle he putt apon þat ston, And made to godd a voice [Cotton voo (= vow)] anon. c 1440 Alph. Tales 17 It had bene mor expedient vnto þe þis day for to hafe etyn flessh in þi cell, þan for to hafe made þis voyce of þine abstinence emange so many of þi brethir. 1598 Queen Elizabeth Plutarch 130 [The] busy man..go he wyl to Jugis seates, to markets and to portz; Vsing this vois, ‘have you no newes to-day?’ 1608 Yorksh. Trag. i. ii, In thy change, This voice into all places will be hurl'd: Thou and the deuill has deceaved the world. 1781 H. Blair in Sc. Paraphr. xliv. iii, 'Tis finish'd, was his latest voice. |
† b. An articulate sound; a vocable, term, or word.
Obs.| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 291 Some coude not saye so moche, but onely expresse suche voyces, that be not in vse to signyfye ony thynge. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 164 b, The Greke voice κλεὶς signifieth bothe a keye..and also the canell bone. 1586 J. Ferne Blaz. Gentrie 4 A gentleman or a nobleman..(for I do wittingly confound these voices). 1614 Raleigh Hist. World i. viii. §9 Cethim is a voice plurall..and signifieth percussores. 1654 Jer. Taylor Real Pres. 129 For as Aquinas said, in all sciences words signifie things, but it is proper to Theologie, that things themselves signified or expressed by voices should also signifie something beyond it. 1697 tr. Burgersdicius' Logic i. xxiv. 98 Of Voices..That we call Articulate which consists of so many Syllables, or Letters..So that it may be written, as, Man, Animal, &c. |
10. a. An expression of opinion, choice, or preference uttered or given by a person; a single vote,
esp. one given in the election of a person to some office or position or on a matter coming for decision before a deliberative assembly. In Parliament, etc.,
spec. a vote given with the voice,
esp. by like-minded voters in unison;
esp. in
phr. to collect the voices, to take a vote by noting the relative strength of the calls of
ay and
no (
cf. voice vote, sense 14 a below).
† dumb voice (see
quot. c 1618).
Very common from
c 1540 to
c 1770.
| 1380 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 150/1 Paschasius gaf his voice in hy To him he wist was les wurthy. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 103 Thus grante I yow myn hole vois. Ches for ous bothen, I you preie. 1444 Rolls of Parlt. V. 105/1 Officers have ben chosen at the said Staple, by the voyces of Marchauntz, havyng goodes. 1489 Ibid. VI. 432/1 If in the said Eleccions..the Voises be divided and equall for sundry parties, then the Voise of the Maire..to stand and be reputed for two Voices in the same Election. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cccxlvi. 547 Than the cardynals all of one acorde assembled togyder, and their voyces rested on sir Robert of Genesue. 1549 Thomas Hist. Italie 79 This maner of geuyng theyr voices by ballotte is one of the laudablest thynges vsed amongest theim. 1581 G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 108 b, The new Academikes that were before chosen by priuie voyces. 1606 in Birch Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) I. 62 Upon long debate in the House, and put to the question,..Oxford won it by many voices. c 1618 Moryson Itin. (1903) 118 Agayne 24 are by lott selected, who being shutt up in a chamber, may not depart till by dumb voyces, that is by divers little balls, they have chosen eight Protectours. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. I. 846 In the year 1626 was a greater Canvas than this, there being then 1078 voices given on all Sides. 1727 Pope, etc. Art of Sinking 123 If it should happen, that three and three should be of each side, the president shall have a casting voice. 1776 J. Adams Wks. (1854) IX. 376 A motion is made, and carried by a majority of one voice. 1802–12 Bentham Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827) V. 470 note, The number of persons..having a voice, as the phrase is, meaning a vote, in any assembly invested with the form of a body corporate. 1844 Erskine May Law of Parl. viii. 179 It must be well understood by members that their opinion is to be collected from their voices in the house, and not by a division; and if their voices and their votes should be at variance, the former will be held more binding than the latter. 1855 J. S. Watson tr. Xenophon's Anab. i. x. §9 note, But on the whole, the other interpretation seems to have most voices in favour of it. 1898 Times 12 Feb. 9/1 The speaker said he had already collected the voices, and it was now too late for the hon. member to intervene. 1924 [see voice vote, sense 14 below]. 1976 S. Lloyd Mr Speaker, Sir 179 He then ‘collects the voices’ by saying, ‘As many as are of that opinion say aye: of the contrary noe’. |
| fig. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 663 Though common sense, allowed a casting voice, And free from bias, must approve the choice. |
† b. to put to voices, to put to the vote.
Obs.| 1585 in Eng. Hist. Rev. Jan. (1914) 111 Th' act..being put to voices..past as an acte with consent of the hole howse. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turkes (1621) 859 After this..matter had been thus..debated on both sides in the Senat, it was at last put to voices. a 1604 Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1633) 123 When Herveie had made an end of his speech, they put it to voyces, and the voyces went on Herveis side. |
† c. Support or approval in a suit or petition.
Obs. rare.
| 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. iv. 167 There's money for thee; Let mee haue thy voice in my behalfe. 1599 ― Mids. N. i. i. 54 In this kind, wanting your fathers voyce The other must be held the worthier. 1611 ― Cymb. iii. v. 115 Thou should'st neither want my meanes for thy releefe, nor my voyce for thy preferment. |
d. A right or power to take part in the control or management of something. Chiefly in the
phr. to have a voice in.
Cf. 2 b.
| 1835 Malden Orig. Universities 169 The appointments to the remaining five [professorships] are of a mixed nature, but the town-council has a voice in all. 1865 J. S. Mill in Even. Star 10 July, It was a matter of the utmost importance that they should have a voice in the thing that was to be decided. 1888 Echo 21 April (Cassell's), The one thing which the labourer wants is a voice in the management of the workhouse. |
11. Mus. a. The vocal capacity of one person in respect of its employment for musical purposes,
esp. in combination with others; a person considered as the possessor of a voice so employed; a singer. Chiefly in
pl.| 1607 in Nichols Progr. Jas. I (1828) II. 107 Sixe cornets and sixe chappell-voyces were seated almost right against them. 1664 Pepys Diary 2 Aug., [He] hath sent for voices and painters and other persons from Italy. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 16 Nov. 1650, A concert of French music and voices. 1731 in Penny Cycl. (1840) XVI. 468/1 An oratorio in English..composed by Mr. Handel,..to be performed by a great number of voices and instruments. 1840 Ibid. 467/2 Dialogues in verse..which he caused to be performed by the most beautiful voices in Rome. 1862 Chambers' Encycl. III. 9/2 Another Chorus of hundreds of voices, and eighty harps, which had been assembled and trained for the same occasion. |
b. A vocal part in music.
| 1666–7 Pepys Diary 24 Jan., Mrs. Anne Jones,..who dances well,..and danced with great pleasure;..and then sung many things of three voices. 1706 A. Bedford Temple Mus. iii. 55 This one Voice or Part is mentioned as the greatest Excellency of the Temple Musick. |
12. a. The agency or means by which something specified is expressed, represented, or revealed.
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. lxix. 3 All toungs (the voice of soules) giue thee that due, Vttring bare truth. 1691 Hartcliffe Virtues 371 The Consent of Mankind is the Voice of Nature. a 1854 H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets ii. (1857) 45 Poetry is the voice of imagination. 1867 J. H. Newman in B. Ward Life (1912) II. xxvii. 223 Doctrine is the voice of a religious body. 1872 Morley Voltaire (1886) 3 The scientific reason urgently seeks instruments and a voice. |
b. Applied to persons.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. ii. 19 To vs [you were] th' imagine Voyce of Heauen it selfe. 1603 ― Meas. for M. ii. iv. 61 I (now the voyce of the recorded Law) Pronounce a sentence. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. cxiii, A potent voice of parliament, A pillar steadfast in the storm. 1876 Lowell in New Princeton Rev. March 173 This no doubt is one of the chief praises of Gray, as of other poets, that he is the voice of emotions common to all mankind. 1903 Q. Rev. April 602 They met with no contradiction from Lord Cranborne, the present voice of the Foreign Office in the House of Commons. |
III. attrib. and
Comb. 13. a. Comb., chiefly objective, as
voice-breaking,
voice-producer,
voice-production,
voice-training ns.;
voice-crazing,
voice-feigning,
voice-ordering;
voice-like;
voice-activated,
voice-matched,
voice-operated adjs.| c 1440 Jacob's Well 295 To stodye more in voys-brekyng in cherche þan in deuoute syngynge. a 1593 Marlowe Ovid's Elegies ii. vi. 23 No such voice-feigning bird was on the ground. 1593 Nashe Christ's T. Wks. (Grosart) IV. 249 With reiterated solicitings, and prostrate voyce-crazing vehemencie. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. ii. Babylon 575 David's the next, who, with the melody Of voyce-matcht fingers, draws sphear's harmony. Ibid. iv. Columns 715 All these Harps and Lutes..Plac't round about her, prove in every part This is the noble, sweet, Voyce-ord'ring Art. 1842 Faber Styrian Lake 71 And the chattering voicelike sounds that came On the breath of the tempest swelling. 1889 G. B. Shaw in Star 13 Dec. 2/4 Teacher of voice production. 1895–6 Cal. Univ. Nebraska 110 The development of the voice-producing muscles. 1896 Godey's Mag. Feb. 165/2 We have methods of voice-training to overcome this. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 791 The patient must be instructed in the proper method of voice-production. 1931 H. Nicolson Diary 6 May (1966) 73 He told me that Joseph Chamberlain was the best voice-producer he had ever heard. 1937 Bell Telephone Q. Apr. 113 This voice operated gain adjusting device operates on the speech coming into the control office to iron out the differences between loud voices and weak ones. 1972 Computers & Humanities VII. 50 Another hardware development used in teaching languages with computers is..a highly sophisticated (and rather expensive) tape recorder... It features the ability to stop a tape automatically for learner control decisions, voice-activated starting and stopping of recording, and automatic replay after each exercise. 1976 K. Benton Single Monstrous Act i. 11, I want Clancy's room bugged. Use a voice-operated mike. 1983 Listener 11 Aug. 33/2 It can't be long before voice-activated equipment enters the modern home, making remote controls a thing of the past. |
b. Simple
attrib., as
voice-accompaniment,
voice-gesture,
voice-pitch,
voice-quality,
voice-range,
voice-stammer,
voice tune, etc. Also in sense 1 g, as
voice-glide,
voice sound,
voice stop, etc.
| (a) 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 431/2 Voice stammer is of two kinds. 1876 Liddon in J. O. Johnston Life (1904) 211 The voice-accompaniment was beautiful. 1879 Whitney Sanskrit Gram. 369 The utterances which may be classed as interjections are..in part voice-gestures, in part onomatopœias. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 181 In all cases the tunes are only voice tunes, not for instrumental performance. 1932 D. Jones Outl. Eng. Phonetics (ed. 3) vi. 23 Some sounds are more sonorous than others, that is to say they carry better or can be heard at a greater distance, when pronounced with the same length, stress, and voice-pitch. Ibid. xxxi. 282 When there is more than one stressed syllable, the fall of the last stressed syllable generally begins at a pitch near to that of the initial unstressed syllables, and falls to the lower limit of the voice-range. 1946 K. L. Pike Intonation Amer. Eng. iv. 100 These characteristics—relaxed vocal cords, open throat..—are the goals of the trainer of voices... Voice quality..is comprised of such characteristics plus some..other differences. 1964 J. C. Catford in D. Abercrombie et al. Daniel Jones 29 Phoneticians should be able to classify ‘voice-qualities’ and other phonatory activities in as systematic a way as they classify supralaryngeal articulation. 1977 Early Mus. Oct. 492/2 It is actually a difficult piece, requiring..voice-ranges quite different from our standard choral division into soprano, alto, tenor, bass. 1977 P. Strevens New Orientations Teaching of Eng. xi. 144 Range of voice pitch, voice quality, and several more dimensions. |
| (b) 1888 Sweet Eng. Sounds 21 In North Welsh all long high vowels are followed by an obscure voice-glide. 1890 ― Primer Spoken Eng. 1 In the formation of voice sounds, such as aa in ‘father’. Ibid. 9 Initial voice stops..have hardly any vocality in the stop itself. |
14. a. Special combs., as
† voice-asker, one who asks for the opinion of others;
voice-box, (
a) the larynx; (
b)
= speak-box s.v. speak v. 36;
voice channel Telecommunications, a channel with a bandwidth sufficiently great to accommodate speech;
voice coil = speech coil s.v. speech n. 13; also, a similar coil with the converse function in a moving-coil microphone;
voice-figure, a figure or graphic representation of a vocal sound;
voice frequency, a frequency within the range required for the transmission of speech (commonly taken as 200 or 300 Hz to 3000 Hz or higher);
usu. attrib.;
voice leading U.S. = part-writing s.v. part n. (
adv.) 29;
voice level, the volume of a voice measured for recording purposes;
voice-part Mus., a part or melody written for the voice, a vocal part;
voice-pipe,
-tube, a pipe or tube for conveying the voice, a speaking tube,
esp. as used on ships;
voice radio, a two-way radio;
= transceiver;
voice synthesizer, a synthesizer for producing sounds in imitation of human speech;
voice vote (
orig. U.S.), a vote taken by noting the relative strength of the calls of
ay and
no (
cf. sense 10 above).
| 1593 Bilson Govt. Christ's Ch. xiv. 317 Much lesse did Paul make him [Timothy] *voice-asker, to knowe whether it should please the Presbyters to haue these things done, or no. |
| 1912 A. Keith Human Body i. 16 The windpipe has already been exposed, and is seen issuing from the *voice-box or larynx below the chin. 1971 ‘K. Royce’ Concrete Boot i. 18, I rang the bell and a voicebox crackled in my ear. I told him who I was and pushed the door. |
| 1959 Listener 18 June 1057/2 Current costs of this means of trans-oceanic telephone communication is about {pstlg}70 per *voice channel per mile. 1971 E. F. Schoeters in B. de Ferranti Living with Computer viii. 67 To every terminal must be assigned..equipment able to transform computer signals into a form suitable for long-distance transmission over what the Post Office calls ‘voice channels’. |
| 1934 Discovery Oct. 301/2 Goodmans' new ‘12 Watt’ permanent magnet moving coil speaker..has a totally enclosed *voice coil. 1961 G. A. Briggs A to Z in Audio 126 The moving coil or dynamic microphone has been widely used... With low impedance voice coil windings..a wide frequency response with good sensitivity can be achieved. 1977 Rolling Stone 7 Apr. 87/3 (Advt.), With voice-coils wound with hi-temp wire on aluminum heat-sinking formers to handle the power of modern amps without burnout. |
| 1891 Marg. Watts Hughes in Century Mag. May 37/1 The peculiar forms shown in the illustrations of this article, and which I call *Voice-Figures. 1903 Daily Chron. 3 June 5/2 The range and variety of the Voice Figures correspond to the scope of the human voice. |
| 1925 Telegraph & Telephone Jrnl. XI. 151/2 *Voice frequency telegraph. 200 to 2,000. 1944 Electronic Engin. XVI. 360 The transmitters are keyed by means of voice-frequency tone signals. 1975 R. L. Freeman Telecommunication Transmission Handbk. viii. 389 In practice voice frequency carrier telegraph techniques handle data rates up to 1200 bps. |
| 1934 Webster, *Voice leading. 1942 [see faux-bourdon]. 1980 Dædalus Spring 198 The upward gap of a sixth..has here been masked by voice-leading. 1984 Listener 30 Aug. 30/4 With the increasingly frequent appearance of tonal triads and ever more connected voice-leading, something very much akin to the use of commonplace words has been creeping into his music. |
| 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 258 *Voice level is the acoustic volume produced by a voice in the studio. 1981 P. Niesewand Word of Gentleman xxvi. 180 Will you read a couple of sentences so we can get a voice level. |
| 1600 J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa iii. 144 Certaine minstrels and singers, which by turnes sometimes vse their instruments and sometimes *voice-musicke. |
| 1776 J. Hawkins Hist. Music I. p. lxxix, Instrumental aids to the *voice-parts. 1869 F. A. G. Ouseley Counterp. Canon & Fugue xv. 111 When the canon is produced simply between two voice-parts, it is called ‘two in one’. 1897 Sir A. Sullivan in Strand Mag. Dec. 654/1 Then the voice parts are written out by the copyist, and the rehearsals begin. |
| 1893 Daily News 20 Feb. 5/5 *Voice pipes have, according to this authority, ‘failed utterly on board ships’. |
| 1959 C. Ogburn Marauders (1960) iv. 132 Tom Senff..had..got hold of a *voice radio. 1962 Sunday Express 25 Nov. 3/2 Back in the cockpit, Harvey called George Bell on the voice radio. 1974 G. Jenkins Bridge of Magpies ii. 39 I've got a special transceiver—voice radio—laid on. RCA Navy job. |
| [1939, 1958 Speech synthesizer: see synthesizer 2.] 1967 Electronics 3 Apr. 266/1 A *voice synthesizer that Fujitsu Ltd. has developed as an audible output for its computers... When ‘good morning’ is fed into the computer by typewriter, the printed-out response is ‘ohayo gozaimasu’ and at the same time the robot-sounding voice of the synthesizer says it in Japanese. 1975 Minicomputer Forum 333 A voice synthesizer driven by a minicomputer and coupled to a telephone answering device and an automatic calling unit is an economical way of providing online computer services to the general public. 1979 Personal Computer World Nov. 58/3 On show will be two new line printers, a voice synthesizer, a P2 Quick printer and the new TRS- 80 Model II. 1985 Listener 30 May 23 (Advt.), You won't have to ask the computer for essential information updates. The voice synthesiser will offer them. |
| 1895 Review of Rev. Aug. 219 Receiving orders only by *voice-tube transmitted from the deck. 1899 F. T. Bullen Way Navy 91 Electric wires, telephones, voice tubes, and engines of every sort. |
| 1924 E. W. Hughes Man. Amer. Parl. Law x. 241 If the voices and vote on division be at variance, do not agree, the *voice vote will bind. 1955 H. W. Donahue How to manage your Meeting v. 217 In the voice vote all those in favor of the motion say aye and those opposed say no. This is the method usually used in deliberative assemblies. 1976 H. Wilson Governance of Britain iii. 55 Perhaps after suggesting a formula which appears to command assent, the prime minister asks ‘Cabinet agree?’—technically a voice vote, sometimes just a murmur. |
b. voice-over, narration spoken by an unseen narrator on a film or television broadcast; also, the unseen person whose voice is heard; also
attrib.| 1947 H. C. Gipson Films in Business & Industry 284 Voice-over, narration-type recording as opposed to live sound. 1964 Listener 16 Apr. 629/1 The BBC..trying to find a way of avoiding naturalistic dialogue by the use of images with ‘voice over’ narration. 1964 Punch 21 Oct. 594/1 How would you like to do some voice-overs? 1966 G. N. Leech Eng. in Advertising iv. 37 In the scripts, the speaker of commentaries is variously designated ‘commentator’, ‘announcer’ and ‘voice over’. 1968 Listener 19 Sept. 379/2 In slow motion she loped muzzily through sylvan glades, and it was a matter of judgment whether the voice-over announcer would come on to plug the sexual properties of petrol, hand lotion or tooth-paste. 1974 K. Millett Flying ii. 225 What I'm trying to do is to supply the voiceover for the pictures I make. 1983 Daily Tel. 18 Aug. 13/1 The minister gives up the cloth and takes off..to earn modest fame as a voice-over for TV commercials. 1984 Daily Mail 17 May 3/1 His [sc. Prince Andrew's] recorded voiceover will be heard by a total of around 300,000 spectators and a TV audience of millions. |
Add:
[II.] [11.] c. transf. Used of each of the melodic lines in polyphonic music, whether sung or not; hence also of the lines or notes (one or more in number) which it is possible to play simultaneously on a given (
esp. electronic) instrument.
| 1889 Cent. Dict. s.v. Answer, In music, that part of a fugue introduced by the second voice immediately after the subject. 1927 H. Crane Let. 12 Sept. (1965) 307 ‘Cutty Sark’ is built on the plan of a fugue. Two ‘voices’—that of the world of Time, and that of the world of Eternity—are interwoven in the action. 1938 Oxf. Compan. Mus. 337/2 A fugue is more or less strictly..in a fixed number of melodic strands—called voices, the form being obviously in its origin a choral one. 1967 R. A. Moog in Electronics World Feb. 42/2 With very few exceptions, the only electronic musical instruments which have achieved commercial importance are those which are direct imitations of traditional instruments. These include monophonic (single-voice) instruments, such as the ‘Solovox’ and the ‘Ondioline’, and polyphonic instruments such as electronic guitars [etc.]. 1989 Encycl. Brit. V. 36/2 An unaccompanied theme, or ‘subject’, that is taken up in turn by the other parts, or ‘voices’. |
d. In an electronic musical instrument, each of a number of selectable timbres, analogous to the stops of a conventional organ.
| 1984 Norman & Dickey Compl. Synthesiser Handbk. ii. 27 The Polymoog..in 1975..featured the use of microprocessors to provide preset voices such as strings or brass, and controls to allow the user to modify these sounds. 1984 S. Sadie New Grove Dict. Mus. Instruments III. 484/1 The sounds are generated by 32 digital oscillators and there is a choice of 48 ‘voices’—24 permanent ones and 24 from a plug-in cartridge. 1985 Internat. Musician June 81/1, I must admit that the Piano voices are the most disappointing of any of these cartridge voices. 1986 Melody Maker 19 Apr. 50/2 (Advt.), Keyboards... Casiotone CT101 polyphonic, 4 octaves, 25 voices. |
[III.] [14.] [a.] voice mail Telecommunications, a system for electronically storing, processing, and reproducing verbal messages left through the conventional telephone network.
| 1980 Amer. Banker 6 Feb. 12 Funds transfer by verbal instruction..; electronic ‘*voice mail’ for short messages; basic telephone answering services; [etc.]. 1991 Times 21 Oct. 11/8 ‘I won't be around tomorrow but my voice mail will be active.’ The voice on the answering machine belongs to Cheryl Costa. |
hence
voice mailbox.
| 1981 Electronics 17 Nov. 12 Some equipment suppliers also lease *voice ‘mailboxes’ to users whose traffic does not justify a private system. |
▸
voice message n. Telecomm. a transmission or recording of a spoken message; (in later use)
spec. = voicemail n. (b).
| 1927 N.Y. Times 11 Feb. 23/5 We were guided by the dots and dashes, but we also received *voice messages..telling us of visibility, landing conditions and everything pertinent to the trip. 1976 Chem. Week 6 Oct. 42 Bell Labs is primarily interested in bubble memory applications in communications... One is a means of recording voice messages for telephone users. 2000 Guardian (Dar es Salaam) 27 Mar. 1/4 (advt.) To send voice messages to any tritel customer, dial 102 followed by the customer phone number then key star. 2004M. A. Regan in C. Castro & T. Horberry Human Factors of Transport Signs xiv. 219 The radio offers many delivery options in addition to standard voice messages, including..the traffic message channel. |
▸
voice messaging n. Telecomm. = voicemail n. (a).
| 1981 Midcon Conf. Rec. xviii. iii. 1 (title) Practical considerations for *voice messaging services. 2003 Franchise Mag. New Year 137 All the 165 spacious bedrooms are air-conditioned, having..two telephone lines, voice-messaging, dataport, interactive satellite TV. |
▸
voice recognition n. the action of recognizing a voice; the process of, or a facility for, identifying a speaker from his or her voice;
spec. the analysis or interpretation of speech sounds,
esp. by computer; computer analysis and matching of the distinctive characteristics of a particular human voice;
cf. speech recognition n. at
speech n.1 Compounds 13.
| 1925 N.Y. Times 23 Aug. viii. 14/3 Other features include..announcers' *voice recognition contest and favorite artists contests. 1941 Psychol. Bull. 38 696 (title) A psychological study of voice recognition. 1965 C. F. Teacher & C. F. Piotrowski Voice Sound Recognition v. 1 The selected parameters and features can be successfully used in a voice recognition device to separate spoken words originating from a number of different speakers. 1973 IEEE Electronic Security Syst. Seminar Conf. Rec. 13/1 Before describing the automatic method used in voice recognition, it is important to define some terms. 2002 Focus May 55/4 A home gateway equipped with voice recognition to allow, for example, a householder wearing a wireless headset to ask the house to turn the heating up or down. |
▪ II. voice, v. (
vɔɪs)
Also 5
voyse,
voise, 6–7
voyce, 7
Sc. woyce.
[f. prec.] I. trans. 1. In passive: To be commonly said or stated; to be spoken of generally or publicly; to be reported, rumoured, or bruited
abroad. ?
Obs. a. With
for,
as,
to be, or simple complement.
| 1453 Paston Lett. Suppl. (1901) 49 Johane, the wyfe of Robert Iclyngham, chapman, quich ys voysed for a mysse governyd woman. 1626 in Birch Crt. & Times Chas. I (1848) I. 148 Here is much lamentation for the King of Denmark, whose disaster is voiced by all to be exceeding great. 1638 Mayne Lucian (1664) 206 Nor are they..to be pointed at by passengers, and voiced the most Valiant among equalls. 1659 Heylin Certamen Epist. 33 A Book of mine called Respondit Petrus..was publiquely voyced abroad, to have been publiquely burnt in London. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 63 About the House was a delicate Garden, voiced to be the pleasantest in India. 1810 Scott Lady of L. ii. xxv, Not long should Roderick Dhu's renown Be foremost voiced by mountain fame. 1822 ― Nigel xxix, Your father was voiced generally as..one of the bravest men of Scotland. |
† b. In impersonal use,
it is voiced. Usually introduced by
as, or
const. that,
how.
Obs.| (a) 1458 Paston Lett. I. 425 The King's safe conduct is not holden but broken, as it is voiced here. 1475 Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 71 Which grevous offence, as it is voised accustumablie,..hathe be more usid under..youre obeisaunce..than in othir straunge regions. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. I. 605 A prayer.. made by her Maiestie, as it was voyced. 1659 Rushw. Hist. Coll. I. 176 Pennington hasted to Oxford where the Parliament was reassembled, but as was voiced, was there concealed till the Parliament was dissolved. |
| (b) 1606 Dekker Sev. Sins ii. (Arb.) 20 After it was voyc'd that Monsieur Mendax came to dwell amongst them. 1629 Maxwell tr. Herodian (1635) 95 When it was voyced, how graciously he had spoken to the Senate. a 1648 Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 138 The Duke of Albany..made it to be voiced abroad, that he had no purpose to stir out of France this year. 1652 C. B. Stapylton Herodian vi. 52 When it was voic'd how Graciously he spoke,..All men were pleas'd. |
† c. Const.
upon (a thing or person).
Obs.| 1599 Sandys Europæ Spec. (1632) 5 For one miracle reported to be wrought by the Crucifix, not so few perhaps as an hundred are voiced upon those other Images. 1638 Featly Strict. Lyndom. ii. 54 If the Church groundeth not the canonization of Saints upon the report of miracles voyced on them. |
† d. In miscellaneous uses.
Obs.| 1600 Holland Livy xlv. xxvii. 1219 Giving no credite to the fame that was voiced of the Romans victorie, they cruelly handled certaine Romane souldiours. 1628 Hobbes Thucyd. (1822) 13 The causes of the breach of the league publickly voiced, were these. a 1648 Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 473 And now these Articles being published in the neighbourhood, and thence voiced abroad, drew many to them. |
† 2. Similarly in active use: To speak of, state, report, proclaim, etc.
Obs. Used (
a) with or (
b) without complement.
Cf. sense 1.
| (a) 1597–8 Bacon Ess., Suitors (Arb.) 46 Secrecie in Sutes is a great meane of obtaining, for voicing them to bee in forwardness may discourage some kinde of suters, but doth quicken and awake others. 1609 Daniel Civ. Wars iii. lxxxiii, Many sought to feed The easie creditours of nouelties, By voycing him aliue. 1644 Featly Roma Ruens 2 So you papists generally, though you are a medly or cento of many hereticks,..yet you voyce your selvs Catholikes. 1672 Marvell Reh. Transp. (1673) II. 53 He voiced my book all over as a most pernicious engine against the whole body of the clergy. |
| (b) 1623 Middleton & Rowley Span. Gipsy ii. ii, He, as report Was bold to voice, retir'd himself to Rhodes. 1628 Ford Lover's Mel. ii. i, With much joy [she] returned home, and, as report voiced it at Athens, enjoyed her happiness. 1633 ― Love's Sacr. ii. i, Yet for the friendship 'twixt my lord and you, I have not voic'd your follies. |
† 3. a. To speak much or highly of; to praise or cry
up (a person or thing). Usually in the passive.
| 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 498 The publike calamities of her countrey..caused her to be well knowne and voiced in the world. 1654 W. Jenkyn Fun. Serm. Ep. Ded. A ij b, Nothing is more ordinary than for the wicked to voice up dead Ministers for..blessed men, whom in their life-time..they bitterly opposed. 1673 Hickeringill Greg. F. Greyb. 149 Such was this advancement of Abbot to the Arch-Bishoprick, voic'd and carried up so high by the Cabal of the Puritans. |
† b. To speak of (one) in a certain way.
Obs.—1| 1607 Shakes. Timon iv. iii. 81 Is this th' Athenian Minion, whom the world Voic'd so regardfully? |
† 4. a. To elect (a person) by voice or vote; to name, nominate, or appoint to an office. Also with
out.
Obs.| 1606 Bacon Let. Ld. Salisbury Several Lett. (1657) 40 Because I have been voiced to it [sc. the Solicitor's place], I would be glad it were done. 1623 Bp. Sanderson Serm. I. 96 We may well voice him for a magistrate;..that hath the fewest and least [defects]. 1624 Heywood Gunaik. iv. 186 Praxaspes begins his oration,..Then told them whom in his [sc. Cyrus's] stead they had voyced into the Sacred Empire. a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (Spalding Cl.) II. 363 He desyrit the moderatour to voice out tuelf of thair bretheren to sit..at thair committee. |
† b. With complement.
Obs.—1| 1607 Shakes. Cor. ii. iii. 242 Say..that Your Minds preoccupy'd..made you against the graine To Voyce him Consull. |
† c. To vote for (something).
Obs.—1| 1642 Sir E. Dering Sp. on Relig. v. 20 They that were present had voyce, they who voyced the Canons, joyned in the decree. |
5. a. To speak or utter (a word, etc.);
† to sound or pronounce in utterance
like (something).
| 1638 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 18 Some words I gather'd from one of the gravest of them, which (being voyced like the Irish) if I give it hardly to be pronounced, you may excuse mee. 1848 Bailey Festus (ed. 3) 167 Again that name hath knelled upon mine ear, Though I have never voiced it. 1866 Lowell Biglow Papers Ser. ii. Introd., The Americanisms with which we are faulted and which we are in the habit of voicing. 1904 S. Weyman Abb. Vlaye xxiii, He was more than content if the little fool would..voice no cries. |
| fig. 1875 Lanier Symphony 265 And man shall sing thee a true-love song, Voiced in act his whole life long. |
† b. To announce (something)
to a person.
Obs.| 1629 R. Hall in Bp. Hall's Wks. (1839) XI. 407 Was it lately voiced to thee from heaven, concerning these wretched animals stabling in France, ‘Arise, Pope Urban, kill and eat?’ |
c. To inform or tell (a person)
that (etc.).
| 1898 T. Hardy Wessex Poems 134 Till chance had there voiced me That one I loved vainly in nonage Had ceased her to be. |
d. = narrate v. 1 b.
| 1961 Listener 14 Dec. 1044/2 Scripted by Roger Fulford..voiced by Andrew Cruickshank in sub-Dimbleby, it recaptured little of the emotion of the Abdication crisis. 1969 Radio Times 6 Feb. 31/1 The films we want to see are prized out of Continental cutting rooms by our multi-lingual production team who make translations of the original commentaries. The English versions are then voiced by nationals of each appropriate country. |
6. a. To give voice, utterance, or expression to (an emotion, opinion, etc.); to express in words or with the voice; to proclaim openly or publicly.
Common from
c 1880 in both
Eng. and
U.S. use.
| 1607–12 Bacon Ess., Gt. Place (Arb.) 286 Rather assume thie right in silence and de facto, then voyce it with claimes and Challenges. 1852 Fraser's Mag. XLVI. 429 None daring to give utterance to a thought, or to voice the thrill of emotion which even every coward's heart must have felt. 1880 Kinglake Crimea VI. ix. 264 The will of a united and resolute people was voiced by our great English journal. 1898 G. W. E. Russell Coll. & Recoll. xx. 258 St. Aldegonde..voiced the universal sentiment of his less fortunate fellow-citizens. |
| refl. 1848 Bailey Festus (ed. 3) 203 Again the world-soul voiced itself, and I Drank in the fruitful glories of her words. |
b. poet. Of birds, the wind, etc.
| 1822 B. W. Proctor Misc. Poems, Mids. Madness, But I may hear..the lost nightingale, Voice her complaint. 1829 Southey Young Dragon iv. 57 Wherefore, ye happy Birds, your mirth Are ye in carols voicing? 1881 Scribner's Mag. XXI. 516 The windy forest, rousing from its sleep, Voices its heart in hoarse, Titanic roar. |
| absol. 1868 Tennyson Lucretius 101 The bird Makes his heart voice amid the blaze of flowers. |
c. Of words, writings, etc.
| 1850 Blackie æschylus I. 88 Words in vain shall voice my sorrow. 1889 W. M. Thayer Life A. Lincoln xxv. 337 These earnest words voice his abiding interest in the loyal army. 1892 Times 13 June 6/2 This letter voices the opinion of my church in Ireland. |
d. To act as the mouthpiece or spokesman of, to express the opinions of (a body of persons).
| 1893 Westm. Gaz. 8 July 4/3 The leader of the South German Democrats rose to voice the Opposition. 1893 Programme World's Congress 3 A series of popular congresses..voiced by the ablest living representatives. |
7. a. poet. or
rhet. To endow with voice, or the faculty of speech or song.
Cf. voiced ppl. a. 1.
| a 1711 Ken Hymns Evang. Poet. Wks. 1721 I. 33 The God of Harmony voic'd all their Throats, And sweetly harmoniz'd their various Notes. 1731 A. Hill Adv. Poets xvi, Th' Almighty God, who gave the Sun to blaze, Voic'd the Great Poet, for his Maker's Praise. 1853 D. Jerrold Chron. Clovernook Wks. VI. 298 Upon the shore are beautiful shells, red-lipped as Venus, and voiced with wondrous singing. |
b. Organ-building. To give the correct quality of tone to (an organ or organ-pipe).
Cf. voicing vbl. n. 4. Also
transf.| 1708 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) II. 580 Agreed..y{supt} M{supr} Christopher..do finish the Organ by tuning and voicing it. 1715 Ibid. 581, 30 pounds for cleaning and voicing y⊇ Chapel Organ. 1801 Busby Dict. Mus., To voice, an expression applied by organ-builders to the regulating the tone of a pipe. To Voice a Pipe, is to bring it to its intended tone and power. 1858 J. Baron Scudamore Organs 27 Such an organ, if properly voiced and played, will have a clear, ringing, truthful tone. 1881 W. E. Dickson Pract. Organ-building ix. 121 The skill, taste, and judgment with which it is finally voiced and regulated. 1933 Metronome Mar. 34 Voicing ensembles should be considered entirely differently from voicing separate sax or brass trios. |
c. To sound (a musical instrument).
rare—1.
| 1728 R. North Mem. Music (1846) 26 It is said the tibia had four foramina.., by which I guess it was voiced either by the lipps, as a cornett, or els by some reedall. |
8. Phonology. To utter (a sound) with vibration of the vocal chords.
Cf. voiced ppl. a. 3. Also, to cause (a sound) to become voiced, and
intr. for pass.| 1877 [see voiced ppl. a.]. 1888 Sweet Eng. Sounds 18 Dutch still voices final s in stressless words such as is and was when a vowel follows. 1959 A. Campbell OE. Gram. viii. 163 A system by which a voiceless spirant was voiced if the preceding vowel did not bear the main stress. 1964 Language XL. 26 The sibilant affricated in close juncture with /l/ but did not voice. |
9. Mus. To write the voice-parts for (a piece of music).
| 1873 J. Hiles Dict. Mus. Terms (ed. 2) 227 To voice, also means, writing the voice parts, regard being had to the nature and capabilities of each kind of voice. |
II. intr. † 10. To use the voice; to cry out, exclaim, make outcry. Also
to voice it.
Obs.| 1627 W. Sclater Exp. 2 Thess. (1629) 225 The siluer⁓Smith at Ephesus made a head of such good fellowes, voycing it as strongly as their Captaine against the Apostle. 1632 Quarles Div. Fancies ii. xxvii, If thou wilt give me David's heart, Ile voyce, Great God, with David; and make David's choyce. 1682 Southerne Loyal Brother iii. i, Were those soft slaves of leachery..To head an Army;..How wou'd they voice it o're and o're for Tachmas To come, and blunt the edge of War agen! |
† 11. a. To vote; to give a vote or votes.
Obs.| a 1639 Spottiswood Hist. Ch. Scot. vi. (1677) 386 Mr. Thomas and the rest abode in the place, and according as they had voiced, appointed Mr. Patrick Weimes..to be received Minister. 1642 Jer. Taylor Episc. §41. 290, I remember also that this place is pretended for the peoples power of voycing in Councells. |
† b. With complement.
Obs.—1| 1638 Act Gen. Assembly Ch. Scot. (1682) 14 In this pretended Assembly..the voicers were threatned to voice affirmativè, under no lesse pain nor the wrath of authoritie. |