audience
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɔː.di.əns/
ipa: /ˈɔːdɪəns/
ipa: /ˈɔ.di.əns/
ipa: /ˈɑ.di.əns/
Forms: form: audiences
Etymology: From Middle English audience, from Middle French audience, from Old French audience, from Latin audientia, from present participle audiēns (“hearing”), from verb audiō (“I hear”). Doublet of audiencia.
Senses: examples: text: We joined the audience just as the lights went down.
text: One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.” He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.
ref: 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 26:
text: My audience to this not-too-easy operation was a small group of Scottish school lasses, who seemed (perhaps naturally) to find the proceedings somewhat mysterious, but at any rate amusing. I wished they would go away, but they didn't, so I had to get on with the job to the accompaniment of a background of giggles!
ref: 1952 February, H. C. Casserley, “Permanent Wayfarings”, in Railway Magazine, page 77:
glosses: A group of people within hearing; specifically, a large gathering of people listening to or watching a performance, speech, etc.
examples: text: WHen he had ended all his ſayingꝭ in the audience of the people / he entred ĩto Capernaum.
ref: 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Luke vij:[1], folio lxxxiiij, verso:
text: ... groans and roarings full of plaintive anger, the force of which can only be realized by actual audience. When solicited by the jerking of their noses, they condescend to kneel down and tuck their legs under them;[…]
ref: 1861, Eclectic Magazine, and Monthly Edition of the Living Age, page 453:
glosses: Hearing; the condition or state of hearing or listening.
glosses: A widespread or nationwide viewing or listening public, as of a TV or radio network or program.
examples: text: She managed to get an audience with the Pope.
text: Captain Anderson: Sounds like you convinced the Council to give us an audience.
Ambassador Udina: They were not happy about it. Saren's their top agent. They don't like him being accused of treason.
ref: 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel:
glosses: A formal meeting with a state or religious dignitary.
examples: text: "Private Eye" has a small but faithful audience.
glosses: The readership of a book or other written publication.
examples: text: The opera singer expanded his audience by singing songs from the shows.
glosses: A following.
glosses: An audiencia (judicial court of the Spanish empire), or the territory administered by it.
Synonyms: word: hearership
word: listenership
sense: large gathering of people watching a performance
word: spectators
sense: large gathering of people watching a performance
word: crowd
Derived terms: audience effect
audience hall
audience left
audienceless
audience-proof
audience right
audience surrogate
audience wave
captive audience
captive audience meeting
cyberaudience
fraudience
inherited audience
intended audience
preaudience
target audience
unaudienced
viewing audience
work the audience
Related terms: audition