Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Voice
Voice
,Noun.
1.
Sound uttered by the mouth, especially that uttered by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character;
as, the human
. voice
; a pleasant voice
; a low voice
He with a manly
voice
saith his message. Chaucer.
Her
Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in woman.
voice
was ever soft,Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in woman.
Shakespeare
Thy
voice
is music. Shakespeare
Join thy
voice
unto the angel choir. Milton.
2.
(Phon.)
Sound of the kind or quality heard in speech or song in the consonants b, v, d, etc., and in the vowels; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; – distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in f, s, sh, etc., and also whisper.
☞ Voice, in this sense, is produced by vibration of the so-called vocal cords in the larynx (see Illust. of
Larynx
) which act upon the air, not in the manner of the strings of a stringed instrument, but as a pair of membranous tongues, or reeds, which, being continually forced apart by the outgoing current of breath, and continually brought together again by their own elasticity and muscular tension, break the breath current into a series of puffs, or pulses, sufficiently rapid to cause the sensation of tone. The power, or loudness, of such a tone depends on the force of the separate pulses, and this is determined by the pressure of the expired air, together with the resistance on the part of the vocal cords which is continually overcome. Its pitch depends on the number of aerial pulses within a given time, that is, on the rapidity of their succession. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 5, 146, 155. 3.
The tone or sound emitted by anything.
After the fire a still small
voice
. 1 Kings xix. 12.
Canst thou thunder with a
voice
like him? Job xl. 9.
The floods have lifted up their
voice
. Ps. xciii. 3.
O Marcus, I am warm’d; my heart
Leaps at the trumpet's
Leaps at the trumpet's
voice
. Addison.
4.
The faculty or power of utterance;
as, to cultivate the
. voice
5.
Language; words; speech; expression; signification of feeling or opinion.
I desire to be present with you now, and to change my
voice
; for I stand in doubt of you. Gal. iv. 20.
My
voice
is in my sword. Shakespeare
Let us call on God in the
voice
of his church. Bp. Fell.
6.
Opinion or choice expressed; judgment; a vote.
Sic
. How now, my masters! have you chose this man?1
Cit
. He has our voices
, sir. Shakespeare
Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice
Of holy senates, and elect by
Of holy senates, and elect by
voice
. Dryden.
7.
Command; precept; – now chiefly used in scriptural language.
So shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the
voice
of the Lord your God. Deut. viii. 20.
8.
One who speaks; a speaker.
“A potent voice of Parliament.” Tennyson.
9.
(Gram.)
A particular mode of inflecting or conjugating verbs, or a particular form of a verb, by means of which is indicated the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses.
Active voice
(Gram.)
, that form of the verb by which its subject is represented as the agent or doer of the action expressed by it.
– Chest voice
(Phon.)
, a kind of voice of a medium or low pitch and of a sonorous quality ascribed to resonance in the chest, or thorax; voice of the thick register. It is produced by vibration of the vocal cords through their entire width and thickness, and with convex surfaces presented to each other.
– Head voice
(Phon.)
, a kind of voice of high pitch and of a thin quality ascribed to resonance in the head; voice of the thin register; falsetto. In producing it, the vibration of the cords is limited to their thin edges in the upper part, which are then presented to each other.
– Middle voice
(Gram.)
, that form of the verb by which its subject is represented as both the agent, or doer, and the object of the action, that is, as performing some act to or upon himself, or for his own advantage.
– Passive voice
. (Gram.)
See under
– Passive
, Adj.
Voice glide
(Pron.)
, the brief and obscure neutral vowel sound that sometimes occurs between two consonants in an unaccented syllable (represented by the apostrophe), as in able , 2.
– (a′b’l)
. See Glide
, Noun.
Voice stop
. – With one voice
, unanimously.
“All with one voice . . . cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” Acts xix. 34.
Voice
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Voiced
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Voicing
.] 1.
To give utterance or expression to; to utter; to publish; to announce; to divulge;
“Rather assume thy right in silence and . . . then voice it with claims and challenges.” as, to
. voice
the sentiments of the nationBacon.
It was
voiced
that the king purposed to put to death Edward Plantagenet. Bacon.
2.
(Phon.)
To utter with sonant or vocal tone; to pronounce with a narrowed glottis and rapid vibrations of the vocal cords; to speak above a whisper.
3.
To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of;
as, to
. voice
the pipes of an organ4.
To vote; to elect; to appoint.
[Obs.]
Shak.
Voice
,Verb.
I.
To clamor; to cry out.
[Obs.]
South.
Webster 1828 Edition
Voice
VOICE
,Noun.
1.
Sound or audible noise uttered by the mouth, either of human beings or of other animals. We say, the voice of a man is loud or clear; the voice of a woman is soft or musical; the voice of a dog is loud or harsh; the voice of a bird is sweet or melodious. The voice of human beings is articulate; that of beasts, inarticulate. The voices of men are different, and when uttered together, are often dissonant.2.
Any sound made by the breath; as the trumpet's voice.3.
A vote; suffrage; opinion or choice expressed. Originally voice was the oral utterance of choice, but it now signifies any vote however given.Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice of holy senates, and elect by voice.
I have no words; my voice is in my sword.
4.
Language; words; expression.Let us call on God in the voice of his church.
5.
In Scripture, command; precept.Ye would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God. Deut. 8.
6.
Sound.After the fire, a still small voice. 1Kings 19.
Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? Job. 40.
The floods have lifted up their voice. Ps. 93.
7.
Language; tone; mode of expression.I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice. Gal. 4.
8.
In grammar, a particular mode of inflecting or conjugating verbs; as the active voice; the passive voice.VOICE
, v.t.1.
To rumor; to report.It was voiced that the king purposed to put to death Edward Plantagenet. [Little used.]
2.
To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of; as, to voice the pipes of an organ.3.
To vote.VOICE
,Verb.
I.