orotund

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Of a voice: characterized by clarity, fullness, smoothness, and strength of sound; hence, of a person: having a clear, full, and strong voice, appropriate for public speaking, reading aloud, etc.
  2. Of writing, etc.: clear, effective, powerful.
  3. Of speech or writing: bombastic, pompous.
noun
  1. A voice characterized by clarity, fullness, smoothness, and strength of sound.
  2. The quality of clarity, effectiveness, and power in speech or writing.

Pronunciation

/ˈɒɹə(ʊ)tʌnd/ /ˈɔː-/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-orotund.wav /ˈɔɹə(ʊ)ˌtʌnd/

Word forms

orotund more orotund most orotund orotunds

Etymology

PIE word *h₁óh₃s The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin ōre rotundō (“with a round mouth; hence, clear; loud”) (whence English ore rotundo), possibly influenced by rotund (“having a curved, round, or spherical shape; (figurative) of sound: full and rich”). Ōre rotundō is composed of ōre (the ablative singular of ōs (“mouth”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óh₃s (“mouth”)) + rotundō (the ablative singular of rotundus (“circular, round”) (possibly from rota (“wheel”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hreth₂- (“to run”)) + -undus (suffix forming adjectives)). The noun is derived from the adjective.

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