ˈred.ərik, -etə- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English rethorik, from Middle French rethorique, modification of Latin rhetorica, from Greek rhētorikē, from feminine of rhētorikos rhetorical, oratorical, from rhētor-, rhētōr orator + -ikos -ic — more at word
1. : the art of expressive speech or discourse ; specifically
a. : the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by ancient critics (as Aristotle and Quintilian) and interpreted by classical scholars for application to discourse in the vernacular
b. : the art or practice of writing or speaking as means of communication or persuasion often with special concern for literary effect
freshman composition is a course in rhetoric — H.C.Bowersox
the cultivation of grammar and rhetoric — John Dewey
2.
a. : skill in the effective use of speech : eloquence
b.
(1) : artificial elegance of language : discourse without conviction or earnest feeling
(2) : inflated language : verbosity , bombast
that passage, sir, is not empty rhetoric — Virginia Woolf
the enemy of rhetoric and every kind of artifice and virtuosity — Philip Rahv
the mocking rhetoric upon a tombstone — J.C.Powys
c. : style of language
his rhetoric would not have been commended at Cambridge
large, and sometimes loose, exalted simplicities of his rhetoric — Times Literary Supplement
3.
a. : verbal communication : discourse , speech
the temptation to establish peace by rhetoric — W.W.Van Kirk
a rhetoric of fantastic slang — Edmund Wilson
b. : the verbal content of a composition (as a poem) or a body of literature
the deep hold that the symbols of free speech and other civil liberties have in American rhetoric — Max Lerner
c. : the verbal elements employed in or characteristic of discourse relating to a particular subject or area
made effective use of the rhetoric of liberalism — Sidney Hook
4. : persuasive or moving power
mastery of expressive musical rhetoric — Carl Parrish & J.F.Ohl
sweet, silent rhetoric of persuading eyes — Samuel Daniel
5. : a treatise on rhetoric ; especially : a textbook on literary composition
the authors of freshman rhetorics — C.W.Shumaker