pauciloquy
English
Alternative forms
- pauciloquie (17 th century)
Etymology
From the Classical Latin pauciloquium (“the fact of speaking few words”), from paucus (“little, few”) + loquor (“to speak”). Structurally pauci- + -loquy.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: pôsĭʹləkwi, IPA(key): /pɔːˈsɪləkwi/
- (US) enPR: pôsĭʹləkwi, pŏsĭʹləkwi, IPA(key): /pɔˈsɪləkwi/, /pɑˈsɪləkwi/
Noun
pauciloquy (uncountable)
- (uncommon) Economical speech; the use of few words when speaking; laconism.
Antonyms
- multiloquy
Related terms
- -loquy
- pauci-
- pauciloquent(ly)
- pauciloquous
References
- “pauciloquy, n.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [Draft revision; Dec. 2008]