eloquence
(ˈɛləkwəns)
Forms: 5 eloquens, elloquence, 4– eloquence.
[a. Fr. éloquence, ad. L. ēloquentia, f. ēloquent-em eloquent.]
1. The action, practice, or art of expressing thought with fluency, force, and appropriateness, so as to appeal to the reason or move the feelings. Also concr. eloquent language.
Primarily of oral utterance, and hence applied to writing that has the characteristics of good oratory. In mod. use the notion of impassioned utterance is more prominent than in the early examples.
| 1382 Wyclif Cor. Prol., Summe [were overturned] of wordy eloquence of philosofie. c 1440 Gesta Rom. i. xxi. 71 (Harl. MS.) Wise men..by deceyuable eloquence and takyng of money deceyueth. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 83 And naught esteemes my aged eloquence. 1665–9 Boyle Occas. Refl. Ded., Those Celebrated Ladies..by their..Eloquence..taught their Children to sway those Rulers of the World. 1709 Tatler No. 70 ¶2 Eloquence, set off with the proper Ornaments of Voice and Gesture. 1840 H. Rogers Ess. (1874) II. v. 224 To give a brief definition of..this truest style of eloquence..it was ‘practical reasoning,’ animated by strong emotion. 1847 Grote Greece (1862) IV. ii. xlvi. 108 His eloquence was irresistibly impressive. |
b. fig.
| 1593 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. ii, Our safest eloquence concerning him [God] is our silence. 1713 Young Last Day iii. 129 The dreadful eloquence of pain, Our only song. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xiv. 252 Silence that spoke and eloquence of eyes. 1814 S. Rogers Jacquel. 56 Her tears her only eloquence. 1822 Hazlitt Table-t. II. iii. 37 That undisturbed silence of the heart which alone is perfect eloquence. |
c. in pl. arch.
| 1534 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) B iiij, People came to Rome to se the eloquences of the bokes. 1865 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. V. xix. v. 495 Suasive eloquences and advices. |
† 2. Speech or verbal expression in general. Obs.
| c 1400 Rom. Rose 7541 Your wikked thought..That mooveth your foule eloquence. 1658–9 N. St. Nicholas in Burton Diary (1828) III. 119, I wish we do not draw God's judgment by such light eloquence. |
3. The quality of being eloquent, as an attribute of speakers or writers, their utterances or style.
| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (1840) 5 Alle to declare I have noone eloquence. c 1450 Crt. Love 2 Of cunning naked, bare of eloquence. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 b, My insuffycyency and ignoraunce..lacke bothe lernynge and eloquence. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. iii. i. §15 This particular argument..is managed with a great deal of eloquence. 1704 Swift T. Tub xi. 129 This I have produced as a Scantling of Jacks great eloquence. 1831 Lytton Godolph. 6 Her father's eloquence had descended to her. Mod. A passage of unsurpassed eloquence. |
4. = rhetoric.
| 1623 Cockeram, Eloquence, the Art of Rhetoricke. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 525 Professor of..eloquence. 1852 Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. 6 Abraham Remi..Professor Royal of Eloquence. |
† 5. An alleged technical term denoting a company of lawyers. Obs. rare—1.
| 1486 Bk. St. Albans F vij a, An Eloquens of laweyeris. |