Oratory
name, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A private chapel or prayer room.
"I will retire to my oratory, and pray to the blessed Virgin to inspire you with her holy counsels […]."
- 2 The art of public speaking, especially in a formal, expressive, or forceful manner. uncountable
- 3 Alternative letter-case form of oratory: a church belonging to the Oratory. alt-of
- 4 addressing an audience formally (usually a long and rhetorical address and often pompous) wordnet
- 5 A Roman Catholic chapel; a building for public or private worship that is not a parish church.
"By public oratories are meant those attached to monasteries, convents, seminaries, etc., having a public entrance by which the faithful have access to them."
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- 6 Eloquence; the quality of artistry and persuasiveness in speech or writing. uncountable
"Rising from humble farmhand to community organizer to a leader of the national Fatah party, Mr. Barghouti became known for his soaring oratory and common touch."
- 7 A Catholic church belonging to the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri. specifically
"They had been given the old Oscott College premises as a temporary home, but were content there until Oratories could be established in the cities. St Philip Neri had specifically intended that the Oratory should be a city-based form of communal and missionary life."
- 1 The Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, a society of priests and lay brothers founded in 1575.
Example
More examples"You need to inject pauses into your oratory delivery."
Etymology
From Middle English oratorie, from Anglo-Norman oratorie, Middle French oratoire, and their source, Late Latin ōrātōrium. Doublet of oratorio.
Borrowed from Latin ōrātōria, from the feminine of ōrātōrius (“oratorial”).