voice

Etymology 1

From Middle English voice, voys, vois, borrowed from Anglo-Norman voiz, voys, voice, Old French vois, voiz (Modern French voix), from Latin vōcem, accusative form of vōx (“voice”), from Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs, root noun from *wekʷ- (“to utter, speak”). Cognate with Sanskrit वाच् (vāc), Ancient Greek ὄψ (óps), Persian آواز (âvâz). Displaced native Middle English steven (“voice”), from Old English stefn (see steven). Compare advocate, advowson, avouch, convoke, epic, vocal, vouch, vowel. Doublet of vox.

noun

1. Sound uttered by the mouth, especially by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character
   The human voice is the oldest musical instrument in history.
   She has a pleasant voice.
   His low voice allowed him to become a bass in the choir.
   Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner had backed manager Houllier during the week and asked for the fans to get behind their team as they looked to steer themselves away from the relegation zone. To that end, the home supporters were in good voice to begin with, but it was Newcastle who started the game in the ascendancy, with Barton putting a diving header over the top from Jose Enrique's cross. April 10, 2011, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport
2. (phonetics) Sound made through vibration of the vocal cords; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; — distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in whispering and voiceless consonants.
3. The tone or sound emitted by an object
   O Marcus, I am warm’d; my heart Leaps at the trumpet’s voice. 1712, Joseph Addison, Cato, a Tragedy
4. The faculty or power of utterance
   to cultivate the voice
5. That which is communicated; message; meaning.
   17th century, John Fell, unknown work Let us call on God in the voice of his church.
6. An expressed opinion, choice, will, desire, or wish; the right or ability to make such expression or to have it considered
   Like many of the 7 million other first time voters, she came of age during half a decade of military rule that has governed the country since former general turned Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power in a 2014 coup. "We have had our voice taken away for five years," she says. 2019-03-24, Regan, Helen, Olarn, Kocha, “Thailand's youth demand change ahead of elections”, in CNN, retrieved 2019-03-24
7. (archaic) Command; precept.
8. One who speaks; a speaker.
   The inclusion of transgender voices further disrupts the homonormalization of sex and identity evident in popular LGBTQ cinema. 2016, Sonia Tascon, Tyson Wils, Activist Film Festivals: Towards a Political Subject
9. (literature) A particular style or way of writing that expresses a certain tone or feeling.
10. (grammar) A particular way of inflecting or conjugating verbs, or a particular form of a verb, by means of which is indicated the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses.
    The verbal system of Latin has two voices, active and passive.
    There are four tenses of the subjunctive (present, perfect, imperfect, and pluperfect) and three voices (active, passive, and deponent). … See 12.8 for the formation of the deponent voice. 2012, Drew Arlen Mannetter, I Came, I Saw, I Translated, page 197
11. (music) In harmony, an independent vocal or instrumental part in a piece of composition.
    The theme of this piece constantly migrates between the three voice parts.
12. (Internet, IRC) A flag associated with a user on a channel, determining whether or not they can send messages to the channel.
    True, better clients will remember that a person had a voice before they were opped and will return the + when they are deopped, but that doesn't solve the problem. February 20, 1999, Cory McWilliams, “IRC oddities”, in alt.irc (Usenet), message-ID <7amrhu$17kg@enews2.newsguy.com>

Etymology 2

From Middle English voysen, voicen, from the noun (see above).

verb

1. (transitive) To give utterance or expression to; to utter; to publish; to announce
   He voiced the sentiments of the nation.
   How often he would voice his love of England, his admiration of her Parliament, his pride in her history. 1893, Annie Wood Besant, An Autobiography
2. (transitive, phonology) To utter audibly, with tone and not just breath.
3. (transitive) To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of
   voice the pipes of an organ
4. (transitive, obsolete) To vote; to elect; to appoint
5. (intransitive, obsolete) To clamor; to cry out
   If thou wilt give me Davids heart; Ile voyce, / Great God, with David; and make Davids choyce. 1638, Francis Quarles, Divine Fancies: Digeſted Into Epigrammes, Meditations, and Obſervations, London: Iohn Marriot, page 67
   It is not the gift of every Perſon, nor of every Age, to harangue the multitude, to Voice it high and loud, & Dominari in Concionibus. 1666, Robert South, A ſermon preached at Lambeth-Chappel on the 25th of November[…], London: William Nott
   How wou'd they voice it o're and o're for Tachmas / To come, and blunt the edge of War agen! 1682, Thomas Southern, The Loyal Brother, Or The Perſian Prince, London: William Cademan, page 29
6. (transitive, Internet, IRC) To assign the voice flag to a user on IRC, permitting them to send messages to the channel.
   I would like this script to allow me to notice not only the ops in a channel, but also those that have been voiced by the ops, at the same time. November 22, 2001, Thom Peppard, “assistance please”, in alt.irc (Usenet), message-ID <B8225C66.240B%thompeppard@tru.eastlink.ca>
   If you then want others to be able to talk, you can voice them (+v) or if you want everyone able to talk, you can remove the moderation flag on the channel (-m). August 1, 2004, Remco Rijnders, “moderating an IRC session”, in alt.irc (Usenet), message-ID <opsb1625xn32ljov@news.xs4all.nl>
7. (television, film) To act as a voice actor to portray a character.
   The openly ridiculous plot has The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) scheming to win the Pirate Of The Year competition, even though he’s a terrible pirate, far outclassed by rivals voiced by Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayek. April 26, 2012, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits :”, in The Onion AV Club