# voice

Pronunciation: say "VOYS" /vɔɪs/

## Noun

1. The sound produced in the throat and mouth by a person speaking or singing, often considered for its particular quality or character; also the ability to produce such sound.
   - Simple: The sound a person makes when speaking or singing, or the ability to make it.
   - _The singer's powerful voice carried to the back of the hall._
   - _A cold left her with a hoarse, scratchy voice for days._
2. An expressed opinion, choice, or wish, or the right and ability to express one and have it taken into account.
   - Simple: The right to share your opinion and have it counted.
   - _Workers gained a real voice in the company's decisions after the union formed._
   - _Smaller nations often struggle to make their voice heard at the summit._
5. A person who speaks; a speaker, especially one giving expression to the views of others.
   - Simple: A person who speaks, often for a group of others.
   - _The journalist became a leading voice for press freedom in the region._
   - _Communities need a trusted voice to carry their demands to the council._
6. A distinctive style of writing that conveys a particular tone or feeling.
   - Simple: The special style and tone a writer uses.
   - _Critics praised the novel's wry, intimate voice._
   - _Finding your own voice is one of the hardest parts of learning to write._
7. A grammatical form of a verb that shows the relationship between the subject and the action: whether the subject performs it or undergoes it.
   - Simple: In grammar, the form of a verb that shows whether the subject does an action or receives it.
   - _Greek grammar adds a middle voice alongside the active and the passive._
   - _Shifting a sentence from passive to active voice changes which participant takes the subject role._
8. An independent vocal or instrumental part within a musical composition.
   - Simple: One separate part or line of music in a piece.
   - _The composer gave the inner voice a flowing countermelody._
   - _In a fugue, each voice enters one after another with the same theme._
9. That which is communicated by something; its message or underlying meaning.
   - Simple: The message or meaning that something is telling you.
   - _Throughout the parable runs a clear voice of forgiveness._
   - _Critics disagreed about the moral voice of the closing chapter._
10. The audible tone created by vibrating vocal cords, which distinguishes voiced sounds from whispers and voiceless consonants.
   - Simple: The sound your throat makes when the vocal cords vibrate, not just air or a whisper.
   - _Place your fingers on your throat and you'll feel the voice in a 'z' but not in an 's'._
   - _The only difference between the first sounds of 'fan' and 'van' is voice._
12. The characteristic tone or sound emitted by an object.
   - Simple: The sound or tone that an object makes.
   - _The organ's rich voice swelled through the cathedral._
   - _Each engine has its own voice, and mechanics learn to recognize them._

## Verb

3. To provide the spoken voice for an animated or fictional character.
   - Simple: To be the speaking voice of a cartoon or game character.
   - _The actor voiced three different characters in the same film._
   - _The studio hired a famous singer to voice the dragon._
4. To put a thought, feeling, or opinion into words; to express or announce it openly.
   - Simple: To say or write what you think or feel.
   - _Residents voiced strong objections to the proposed highway._
   - _He was reluctant to voice his doubts in front of the whole committee._
11. To produce a sound audibly through vibration of the vocal cords, rather than with breath alone.
   - Simple: To make a speech sound using the vocal cords, not just the breath.
   - _English speakers voice the final consonant in 'dogs' but leave it voiceless in 'cats'._
   - _Many learners of English forget to voice the last sound in words like 'dog' and 'bed', so they sound like 'dock' and 'bet'._
13. To fit an instrument or its parts for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of a pipe, reed, or string.
   - Simple: To adjust an instrument or pipe so that it makes the right sounds.
   - _The technician will voice the new rank of pipes before the recital._
   - _Craftsmen carefully voice each reed so the harmonium speaks evenly across its range._

## Noun

14. A command or binding order; an authoritative instruction that must be carried out. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: An order or command telling someone what to do.

## Verb

15. To cry out loudly or make a clamor, as a crowd raising its noise together. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To shout loudly or cry out, often in protest.
16. To vote for, elect, or appoint someone to a position or office. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To choose someone for a job or position by voting.

## Other meanings

- (noun) On IRC, a flag (+v) attached to a user that allows them to send messages in a moderated channel.
- (verb) On IRC, to grant a user the voice flag, allowing them to send messages to the channel.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 5–10, 12, 14** — It came through Middle English and Anglo-Norman from Old French "vois", from Latin "vōx" (accusative "vōcem"), meaning "voice", ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to utter, speak". It is related to words like vocal, vowel, and vouch, and it displaced the native word "steven" (Old English "stefn").
**Meanings 3–4, 11, 13, 15–16** — It comes from Middle English "voysen", formed from the noun "voice".

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