voi

n. [ OE. vois, voys, OF. vois, voiz, F. voix, L. vox, vocis, akin to Gr. &unr_; a word, &unr_; a voice, Skr. vac to say, to speak, G. erwähnen to mention. Cf. Advocate, Advowson, Avouch, Convoke, Epic, Vocal, Vouch, Vowel. ] 1. Sound uttered by the mouth, especially that uttered by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character; as, the human voice; a pleasant voice; a low voice. [ 1913 Webster ]

He with a manly voice saith his message. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Her voice was ever soft,
Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in woman. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thy voice is music. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Join thy voice unto the angel choir. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Phon.) Sound of the kind or quality heard in speech or song in the consonants b, v, d, etc., and in the vowels; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; -- distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in f, s, sh, etc., and also whisper. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Voice, in this sense, is produced by vibration of the so-called vocal cords in the larynx (see Illust. of Larynx) which act upon the air, not in the manner of the strings of a stringed instrument, but as a pair of membranous tongues, or reeds, which, being continually forced apart by the outgoing current of breath, and continually brought together again by their own elasticity and muscular tension, break the breath current into a series of puffs, or pulses, sufficiently rapid to cause the sensation of tone. The power, or loudness, of such a tone depends on the force of the separate pulses, and this is determined by the pressure of the expired air, together with the resistance on the part of the vocal cords which is continually overcome. Its pitch depends on the number of aerial pulses within a given time, that is, on the rapidity of their succession. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 5, 146, 155. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The tone or sound emitted by anything. [ 1913 Webster ]

After the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings xix. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

Canst thou thunder with a voice like him? Job xl. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

The floods have lifted up their voice. Ps. xciii. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

O Marcus, I am warm'd; my heart
Leaps at the trumpet's voice. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The faculty or power of utterance; as, to cultivate the voice. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Language; words; speech; expression; signification of feeling or opinion. [ 1913 Webster ]

I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you. Gal. iv. 20. [ 1913 Webster ]

My voice is in my sword. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let us call on God in the voice of his church. Bp. Fell. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Opinion or choice expressed; judgment; a vote. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sic. How now, my masters! have you chose this man?
1 Cit. He has our voices, sir. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice
Of holy senates, and elect by voice. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Command; precept; -- now chiefly used in scriptural language. [ 1913 Webster ]

So shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God. Deut. viii. 20. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. One who speaks; a speaker. “A potent voice of Parliament.” Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Gram.) A particular mode 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Active voice (Gram.), that form of the verb by which its subject is represented as the agent or doer of the action expressed by it. --
Chest voice (Phon.), a kind of voice of a medium or low pitch and of a sonorous quality ascribed to resonance in the chest, or thorax; voice of the thick register. It is produced by vibration of the vocal cords through their entire width and thickness, and with convex surfaces presented to each other. --
Head voice (Phon.), a kind of voice of high pitch and of a thin quality ascribed to resonance in the head; voice of the thin register; falsetto. In producing it, the vibration of the cords is limited to their thin edges in the upper part, which are then presented to each other. --
Middle voice (Gram.), that form of the verb by which its subject is represented as both the agent, or doer, and the object of the action, that is, as performing some act to or upon himself, or for his own advantage. --
Passive voice. (Gram.) See under Passive, a. --
Voice glide (Pron.), the brief and obscure neutral vowel sound that sometimes occurs between two consonants in an unaccented syllable (represented by the apostrophe), as in able See Glide, n., 2. --
Voice stop. See Voiced stop, under Voiced, a. --
With one voice, unanimously. “All with one voice . . . cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” Acts xix. 34. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To clamor; to cry out. [ Obs. ] South. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Furnished with a voice; expressed by the voice. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Phon.) Uttered with voice; pronounced with vibrations of the vocal cords; sonant; -- said of a sound uttered with the glottis narrowed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Voiced stop,
Voice stop (Phon.), a stopped consonant made with tone from the larynx while the mouth organs are closed at some point; a sonant mute, as b, d, g hard. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a voice or vocal quality; having a loud voice or many voices; vocal; sounding. [ 1913 Webster ]

Beheld the Iliad and the Odyssey
Rise to the swelling of the voiceful sea. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Having no voice, utterance, or vote; silent; mute; dumb. [ 1913 Webster ]

I live and die unheard,
With a most voiceless thought, sheathing it as a sword. Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Phon.) Not sounded with voice; as, a voiceless consonant; surd. [ 1913 Webster ]

Voiceless stop (Phon.), a consonant made with no audible sound except in the transition to or from another sound; a surd mute, as p, t, k. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Voice"less*ly, adv. -- Voice"less*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Voided; p. pr. & vb. n. Voiding. ] [ OF. voidier, vuidier. See Void, a. ] 1. To remove the contents of; to make or leave vacant or empty; to quit; to leave; as, to void a table. [ 1913 Webster ]

Void anon her place. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

If they will fight with us, bid them come down,
Or void the field. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To throw or send out; to evacuate; to emit; to discharge; as, to void excrements. [ 1913 Webster ]

A watchful application of mind in voiding prejudices. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

With shovel, like a fury, voided out
The earth and scattered bones. J. Webster. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To render void; to make to be of no validity or effect; to vacate; to annul; to nullify. [ 1913 Webster ]

After they had voided the obligation of the oath he had taken. Bp. Burnet. [ 1913 Webster ]

It was become a practice . . . to void the security that was at any time given for money so borrowed. Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OE. voide, OF. voit, voide, vuit, vuide, F. vide, fr. (assumed) LL. vocitus, fr. L. vocare, an old form of vacare to be empty, or a kindred word. Cf. Vacant, Avoid. ] 1. Containing nothing; empty; vacant; not occupied; not filled. [ 1913 Webster ]

The earth was without form, and void. Gen. i. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

I 'll get me to a place more void. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

I 'll chain him in my study, that, at void hours,
I may run over the story of his country. Massinger. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having no incumbent; unoccupied; -- said of offices and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

Divers great offices that had been long void. Camden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Being without; destitute; free; wanting; devoid; as, void of learning, or of common use. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

A conscience void of offense toward God. Acts xxiv. 16. [ 1913 Webster ]

He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbor. Prov. xi. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Not producing any effect; ineffectual; vain. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ My word ] shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please. Isa. lv. 11. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will make void the counsel of Judah. Jer. xix. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Containing no immaterial quality; destitute of mind or soul. “Idol, void and vain.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Law) Of no legal force or effect, incapable of confirmation or ratification; null. Cf. Voidable, 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

Void space (Physics), a vacuum. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Empty; vacant; devoid; wanting; unfurnished; unsupplied; unoccupied. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To be emitted or evacuated. Wiseman. [ 1913 Webster ]