English Explanatory Dictionary

speaker

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. One who speaks.
  2. Loudspeaker.
  3. Speakerphone.
  4. The chair or presiding officer of certain legislative bodies, such as the U.K. House of Commons or the U.S. House of Representatives.
  5. One who makes a speech to an audience.
  6. A book containing passages of text for use in speeches.
  7. The producer of a given utterance, whether speech or text.
  8. The literary character uttering the lyrics of a poem or song, as opposed to the author writing the words of that character.
  9. A key on a woodwind instrument of the clarinet family (compare octave key on other instruments) which induces the instrument to overblow.
  10. A wooden pole or spike used by hedgers to carry loads on their shoulders. Possibly Dorset dialect.
noun
  1. Alternative letter-case form of speaker (“presiding officer of a legislative body”).
name
  1. A surname

Pronunciation

/ˈspikɚ/ /ˈspiːkə/ en-us-speaker.ogg

Word forms

speaker speakers

Etymology

From Middle English speker, spekere, an alteration (with change of suffix) of Old English speca, spreca (“speaker”), from Proto-Germanic *sprekô (“speaker”), equivalent to speak + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Spreeker (“speaker”), West Frisian sprekker (“speaker”), Dutch spreker (“speaker”), German Low German Spreker (“speaker”), German Sprecher (“speaker”).

Synonyms

talker speaker speechmaker orator presenter announcer

Related words

spyeker

Derived words

doublespeaker ear speaker forespeaker forthspeaker gainspeaker guest speaker heritage speaker interspeaker intraspeaker lawspeaker lay speaker multispeaker native-speaker native speaker non-native speaker non-native-speaker nonspeaker PA speaker PC speaker plenary speaker public speaker remote speaker semispeaker smart speaker speaker base speaker enclosure speakeress speakerless speakerlike speakerly speaker point speaker pro tempore speakership tongues-speaker tongues speaker

Translations

Finnish: puhuja French: locuteur French: locutrice Indonesian: bahasawan Indonesian: penutur Indonesian: pemakai bahasa Indonesian: pengguna bahasa Macedonian: говорник Malay: penutur Iranian Persian: گویِشور Spanish: locutor
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