ventriloquy

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

VENTRIL'OQUY, noun [Latin venter, belly, and loquor, to speak.] The act, art or practice of speaking in such a manner that the voice appears to come not from the person, but from some distant place, as from the opposite side of the room, from the cellar, etc.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

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