verb (used with or without object), o·rat·ed, o·rat·ing.
- to deliver an oration; speak pompously; declaim.
verb (intr)
- to make or give an oration
- to speak pompously and lengthily
v.c.1600, “to pray, to plead,” from Latin oratus, past participle of orare “speak, pray, plead, speak before a court or assembly” (see orator). The meaning “make a formal speech” emerged c.1860 in American English as a back-formation of oration. Related: Orated; orating.