pronounce

Etymology

Recorded since c.1330 as Middle English pronouncen (“to utter, declare officially”), from Old French prononcier, from Latin prōnūntiō, itself from prō- (“forth, out, in public”) + nūntiō (“I announce”) from nūntius (“messenger”).

verb

1. (transitive) To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously.
   I hereby pronounce you man and wife.
2. (transitive) To declare authoritatively, or as a formal expert opinion.
   The doctor pronounced them legally dead.
   See there! A son is born And we pronounce him fit to fight There are blackheads on his shoulders And he pees himself in the night. 1972, “Thick As A Brick”, Ian Anderson (lyrics), performed by Jethro Tull
   Paramedics attended, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. December 16 2020, Paul Clifton, “Investigation begins after death at Eastleigh depot”, in Rail, page 12
   1. (transitive) To pronounce dead.
      Despite resuscitative efforts, Mr. Gray was pronounced on 4/19/2015. 2015, April 30, Carol H. Allan, David R. Fowler (medical examiners), Freddie Gray autopsy: excerpt from the report, published in The Baltimore Sun, June 24, 2015
3. (intransitive) To pass judgment.
   The judge had pronounced often before, but never in front of such a crowd.
4. (transitive) To sound out (a word or phrase); to articulate.
   They spell it "Vinci" and pronounce it "Vinchy". Foreigners always spell better than they pronounce. 1869, Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad, page 182
   I wanted to look up velleity and quotidian and memorize the fuckers for all time, spell them, learn them, pronounce them syllable by syllable—vocalize, phonate, utter the sounds, say the words for all they're worth. 2007, Don DeLillo, Underworld: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Scribner Classics, page 543
   1. (in passive) To sound like.
      The Icelandic double l in Eyjafjallajökull is pronounced tl.
      The Chinese believe feng shui, pronounced fung shway, can help blunt the ill effects to health and wealth brought on, for example, by the inauspicious jut of an adjacent building or hill. January 31, 1997, Charles Hutzler, “Leader’s office hunt a lesson in arcana and parking problems”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2023-04-19
      The DPRK (Joseon Minjujui Inmin Konghuaguk 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國) is read in Chinese as Chaoxian minzhu zhuyi renmin gonghe guo, and its capital, Pyeonyang, is pronounced Pingrang 平壤. 2012, Endymion Wilkinson, “Introduction”, in Chinese History: A New Manual, 3rd revised edition, Harvard University Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 14
5. (intransitive) To produce the components of speech.
   Actors must be able to pronounce perfectly or deliberately disabled.
6. (transitive) To read aloud.