VENTRILOQUISM

[ven.tril.o.quism] n [LL ventriloquus ventriloquist, fr. L ventr-, venter + loqui to speak; fr. the belief that the voice is produced from the ventriloquist's stomach] (ca. 1797): the production of the voice in such a way that the sound seems to come from a source other than the vocal organs of the speaker -- ven.tri.lo.qui.al adj -- ven.tri.lo.qui.al.ly adv