Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
noun
The oral equivalent of literature: a collection of traditional folk songs, stories, etc., that is communicated orally rather than in writing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: oral literature
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Variant of oratour (“a small room or chapel used for prayer and worship, or for private study; an oratory”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Scotland, alt-of, alternative, archaic
Topics: Christianity
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Blend of oral + literature, said to have been coined by the Ugandan linguist and literary theorist Pio Zirimu (died 1977): see the 1972 quotation.
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).
Across languages
2 source translations are retained for this English entry.
