# speaker

Pronunciation: US say "SPEE-kur" /ˈspikɚ/; UK say "SPEE-kuh" /ˈspiːkə/

## Noun

1. A device that converts an electrical audio signal into audible sound.
   - Simple: A device that turns electrical signals into sound you can hear.
   - _The technician traced the buzzing noise to a damaged speaker._
   - _High-end studio speakers reproduce a wide range of frequencies._
2. A person who speaks or is producing spoken words.
   - Simple: A person who is talking or saying something out loud.
   - _The speaker paused to let the question sink in._
   - _Fluent speakers adjust their tone depending on the listener._
3. A person who delivers a speech to an audience.
   - Simple: A person who gives a speech in front of a group of people.
   - _The speaker opened with a joke to put the audience at ease._
   - _Organizers lined up four speakers for the morning session._
4. The presiding officer who leads and keeps order in certain legislative bodies, such as the U.S. House of Representatives.
   - Simple: The person who leads and keeps order in some lawmaking groups.
   - _The speaker ruled the motion out of order and moved to the next item._
   - _Members elected a new speaker at the start of the session._
5. A phone feature that plays audio aloud, letting you talk without holding the handset to your ear.
   - Simple: The part of a phone that plays sound aloud so you can talk without holding it to your ear.
   - _Switch it to speaker so we can both hear the directions._
   - _The lawyer took the conference call on speaker from her office._
6. The producer of a given utterance, whether it is spoken or written.
   - Simple: The person who produces something said or written.
   - _Words like 'here' and 'now' take their meaning from the speaker who produced them._
   - _Even in a text message, the speaker shapes how the words should be read._
7. The fictional character who utters the words of a poem or song, distinct from the author who wrote them.
   - Simple: The made-up voice in a poem or song, not the real writer behind it.
   - _Critics noted that the speaker of the poem is not the poet but a grieving widow._
   - _Throughout the ballad, the speaker addresses a lover who never answers._
8. A key on a clarinet-family woodwind that makes the instrument overblow into a higher register.
   - Simple: A key on a clarinet that makes the instrument jump up to higher notes.
   - _The clarinetist opened the speaker to overblow into the upper register._
   - _A leaking pad on the speaker left the upper notes unstable._
9. An anthology of prose and verse extracts intended for use in making speeches. *(US)*
   - Simple: A book of ready-made passages people can use when writing speeches.
   - _The aide pulled a well-worn speaker from the shelf to draft the address._
   - _He marked several passages in the speaker before the campaign rally._

## Noun

10. A wooden pole or spike used by hedgers to carry loads on their shoulders. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A wooden pole that hedge workers once used to carry loads on their shoulders.
   - _She watched the hedger hoist the bundled brushwood onto his speaker and set off down the lane._
   - _The speaker dug into his shoulder under the weight of the day's faggots._

## Origin

From Middle English speker, a reshaped form (with a changed suffix) of Old English speca, spreca ("speaker"), from Proto-Germanic *sprekô ("speaker"); it is equivalent to speak + -er, and is related to Dutch spreker and German Sprecher.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/speaker (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).