Ventriloquist
/ˌvɛn.trɪˈlɒk.wɪst/noun
A performer who appears to make their voice come from elsewhere, usually while moving a puppet.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Latin ventriloquus, a term used for people believed to speak with a strange internal voice, and in antiquity that kind of speech was often associated with divination or possession.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
ventriloquus
“Speaking from the belly; a person thought to speak with a hidden or internal voice”
Late Latin
Latin
ventriloquium
“The practice or act of speaking in this way”
16th Century
English
ventriloquist
“A person who speaks so that the voice seems to come from elsewhere”
Modern English
English
ventriloquist
“An entertainer who produces the illusion that a voice comes from a puppet or another source”