Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1700-1800
Language: Late Latin
Origin: ventriloquus 'ventriloquist', from Latin venter ( VENTRAL) + loqui 'to speak'; from the belief that the voice comes from the ventriloquist's stomach

ventriloquist

 noun
     
Related topics: Performing
ven‧tril‧o‧quist [countable]
AP someone who entertains people by speaking without moving their lips and making it seem that the words are spoken by a model of a person called a dummy
—ventriloquism noun [uncountable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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