What does locution mean?
Locution is a formal word for the act of speaking and for the particular way in which someone expresses an idea. It can refer to a person's style of speech, as in a speaker noted for careful or elaborate locution, or to an individual phrase regarded as a meaningful utterance. The term is especially associated with rhetoric, law, philosophy, and discussions of how language performs social actions. Unlike diction, which focuses more specifically on word choice, locution can encompass tone, phrasing, and manner of expression. It is not usually used in casual conversation, where speech, wording, or expression is more natural. Locution is also the source of the adjective locutionary, meaning concerned with utterances and the act of speaking.
The act of speaking or the particular manner in which speech is expressed.
"The question concerns not the truth of his statement but its locution."
Formal and literary; often used in discussions of rhetoric, law, and philosophy.
A specific spoken phrase or expression regarded as an utterance.
"The familiar greeting was transformed into an unfamiliar locution."
This sense is more specialized and less common than the sense of manner of speech.
The plural is grammatically regular but is relatively uncommon in modern usage.
"The novel records many private locutions that later become public slogans."
Locution is where the word “locutionary” comes from: it describes the social act of saying something, not merely the words used.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does locution come from?
Locution comes from Latin locutio, a noun meaning “a speech” or “an utterance,” derived from loqui, “to speak.” The word entered English during the 16th century, when it was used for the act of speaking or a formal speech. Related English words include allocution, a formal address, elocution, referring to style of expression, and circumlocution, a roundabout way of saying something.
Related word forms
How locution is actually used
Locution is formal and literary. It is more common in discussions of rhetoric, language, law, and philosophy than in everyday conversation; the more familiar word for a way of speaking is usually speech or manner of speaking.
Easily confused with locution
A locution is an utterance or way of speaking, whereas locomotion is movement or the ability to move from one place to another.