oratory1
/
ˈɒrət(ə)ri/
n.
(pl. oratories)
- a small chapel for private worship.
-
(Oratory)
(in the Roman Catholic Church) a religious society of secular priests founded to provide plain preaching and popular services.
Derivative
Etymology
ME: from Anglo-Norman Fr. oratorie, from eccles. L. oratorium, based on L. orare ‘pray, speak’; sense 2 is from Congregation of the Fathers of the Oratory.
oratory2
n.
- the art or practice of formal public speaking.
- rhetorical or eloquent language.
Derivative
- oratorical
/-ˈtɒrɪk(ə)l/
adj. - oratorically adv.
Etymology
C16: from L. oratoria, fem. of oratorius ‘relating to an orator’.
