orature

orature · noun¹

Blend of oral + literature, said to have been coined by the Ugandan linguist and literary theorist Pio Zirimu (died 1977): see the 1972 quotation.

orature · noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₁óh₃s“mouth”
2. Latin · derived fromōrātōrium
3. Old French · derived fromoratur
4. Middle English · inherited fromoritore
5. Scots · derived fromoratur
6. English todayorature

From Scots oratur, orature, a variant of oratour, oritour, from Middle English oritore, a variant of ōrātōrī, ōrātōrīe (“room or other place for prayer or private study; chapel, church, temple; shrine”), from Old French oratur, orator, oratore, oratori, oratour (modern French oratoire (“oratory; oratorical”)), from Latin ōrātōrium, from ōrātōrius (“oratorical”), from ōrātor (“orator, speaker”) (from ōrō (“to deliver a speech, orate”), from ōs (“mouth”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óh₃s (“mouth”)) + -ius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 1970s The oral equivalent of literature: a collection of traditional folk songs, stories, etc., that is communicated orally rather than in writing.