harangue
pronunciation
How to pronounce harangue in British English:
UK [həˈræŋ]
How to pronounce harangue in American English:
US [həˈræŋ]
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- Noun:
- a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion
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- Verb:
- deliver a harangue to; address forcefully
Word Origin
- harangue
- harangue: [15] The original notion underlying harangue may have been of a large group of people crowded round, with the idea of ‘addressing’ them only developing later. The word comes via Old French harangue from medieval Latin harenga, and it has been speculated that this was perhaps acquired from a prehistoric Germanic *kharikhring- ‘assembly’, a compound of *kharjaz ‘crowd’ (source of English harbinger, harbour, harry, and herald and related to harness) and *khringaz ‘ring’.=> harbinger, harbour, harness, harry, herald
- harangue (n.)
- mid-15c., arang, Scottish (in English from c. 1600), from Middle French harangue "a public address" (14c.), from Old Italian aringo "public square, platform; pulpit; arena," from a Germanic source such as Old High German hring "circle" (see ring (n.1)) on the notion of "circular gathering," with an -a- inserted to ease Romanic pronunciation of Germanic hr- (compare hamper (n.1)). But Watkins and Barnhart suggest a Germanic compound, *harihring "circular gathering, assembly," literally "host-ring, army-ring," with first element *hari- "war-band, host" (see harry (v.)). From the same Germanic "ring" root via Romanic come rank (n.), range (v.), arrange.
- harangue (v.)
- 1650s, from French haranguer (15c.), from Middle French harangue (see harangue (n.)). Related: Harangued; haranguing.
Example
- 1. The minister of propaganda delivered his usual harangue .
- 2. If not quite a harangue , at least a little discourteous .
- 3. Listen to entrepreneur to harangue , solid it is life one fast !
- 4. The actors need not work long hours and they do not need to harangue the website owners for their wages .
- 5. After the play he delivered a long harangue about how dreadful the english theatre was .