Etymology

rhetoric

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Today it means: The art of using language, especially public speaking, as a means to persuade. Full definition →

Middle English rhetorik, rhetoric ← Old French rhetorique ← Latin rhētorica
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rhetoric · noun1

  1. Ancient Greekῥητορῐκή τέχνη (rhētorĭkḗ tékhnē)ellip.
  2. Ancient Greekῥητορικὴ (rhētorikḕ)
  3. Latinrhētorica
  4. Old Frenchrhetorique
  5. Middle Englishrhetorik, rhetoric
  6. English todayrhetoric

Inherited from Middle English rhetorik, rhetoric, borrowed from Old French rhetorique, borrowed from Latin rhētorica, borrowed from Ancient Greek ῥητορικὴ (rhētorikḕ), ellipsis of ῥητορῐκή τέχνη (rhētorĭkḗ tékhnē).

rhetoric · adjective2

  1. Proto-Indo-European*werh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wéryeti
  3. Proto-Hellenic*wéřřō
  4. Ancient Greekεἴρω (eírō)
  5. Ancient Greekῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr)
  6. Ancient Greekῥητορικός (rhētorikós)
  7. Latinrhētoricus
  8. Old Frenchrhetorique
  9. Middle Englishrhetorik
  10. English todayrhetoric

Inherited from Middle English rhetorik, borrowed from Old French rhetorique, borrowed from Latin rhētoricus, borrowed from Ancient Greek ῥητορικός (rhētorikós), from ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr, “public speaker”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós). By surface analysis, rhetor + -ic.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.