Spokesman

How to spell spokesman

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce spokesman

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does spokesman mean?

1. nounA man who is appointed to speak officially on behalf of a person, group, or organisation.

Spokesman in a sentence

• The company spokesman confirmed the layoffs at a press conference.

• A government spokesman declined to comment on the report.

Where does spokesman come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is a compound built inside English itself rather than borrowed from another language, and it dates from the middle of the 1500s. Its first element is 'spoke', the old past tense of the verb 'speak', which descends from the Old English 'sprecan' and later 'specan', meaning to utter words. To this was joined the everyday native noun 'man', producing a label for the person chosen to speak on behalf of others. The linking 's' in the middle puzzles many writers, but it reflects the form 'spokes', much as in 'craftsman' or 'tradesman', where a possessive-style 's' binds the two parts. Because the noun is really 'spoke' plus 'man' rather than 'spoken' or 'speaks', the trap lies in remembering the buried 'kes' cluster that the spoken word glides over.

How the word is built

• spokes- (from 'spoke', the past tense of 'speak')
• -man (one who acts)