From Latin 'eloqui' (to speak out) — originally meaning style of expression, narrowed to the art of clear vocal delivery.
The skill of clear and expressive speech, especially of distinct pronunciation and articulation. The art of effective public speaking with regard to delivery, gesture, and vocal production.
From Latin ēlocūtiō (oratorical style, manner of expression, rhetorical delivery), from ēlocūtus, past participle of ēloquī (to speak out, to express fully in words), from ē- (out, fully) + loquī (to speak). The Latin loquī derives from PIE *tolkʷ- (to speak, to make sound), root of an entire Latin speech family: eloquent, colloquy, soliloquy, loquacious, and ventriloquist. In classical Roman rhetoric, elocutio named one of the five
In the Victorian era, elocution became a booming industry. Thomas Sheridan (father of the playwright) published 'A Course of Lectures on Elocution' in 1762, arguing that proper speech was the foundation of civilized society. By the nineteenth century, elocution manuals prescribed exact gestures for every emotion — pointing upward for hope, clutching the breast for grief, extending both arms for welcome. The rigid artificiality