ventriloquism

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the art of speaking with little visible lip movement so that the voice seems to come from another source

   Her ventriloquism made the puppet appear to interrupt the host.

Formed from ventriloquy + -ism. Ventriloquy ultimately joins Latin venter, 'belly,' with loqui, 'to speak,' because the mysterious displaced voice was once imagined as speech coming from the belly.

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