elocution

ELOCU'TION, noun [Latin elocutio, from eloquor; e and loquor, to speak.] 1. Pronunciation; the utterance or delivery of words, particularly in public discourses and arguments. We say of elocution it is good or bad; clear, fluent or melodious. Elocution, which anciently embraced style and the whole art of rhetoric, now signifies manner of delivery. 2. In rhetoric, elocution consists of elegance, composition and dignity; and Dryden uses the word as nearly synonymous with eloquence, the act of expressing thoughts with elegance or beauty. 3. Speech; the power of speaking. Whose taste--gave elocution to the mute. 4. In ancient treatises on oratory, the wording of a discourse; the choice and order of words; composition; the act of framing a writing or discourse.