harangue

See also: harangué

English

WOTD – 10 October 2006

Etymology

From Middle English arang and French harangue, from Old Italian aringa (modern Italian arringa) from aringare (“speak in public”) (modern Italian arringare), from aringo (“public assembly”), from Gothic *𐌷𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍃 (*hriggs) or a compound containing it, akin to Old High German hring (“ring”) (whence German Ring).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /həˈɹæŋ/

• Audio (Southern England):

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• Audio (US):

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• (Canada) IPA^(key): /həˈɹeɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -æŋ
• Hyphenation: ha‧rangue

Noun

harangue (plural harangues)

1. An impassioned, disputatious public speech.
2. A tirade, harsh scolding or rant, whether spoken or written.

   Synonyms: admonition, condemnation, criticism, diatribe, polemic, rant, screed, tirade; see also Thesaurus:diatribe

   She gave her son a harangue about the dangers of playing in the street.

   The priest took thirty minutes to deliver his harangue on timeliness, making the entire service run late.

   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 203:

     The king addresses his people, and the heaviest impost is levied with acclamations—the general harangues his troops, and thousands rush upon the smoking cannon and the gleaming bayonets—the lover whispers his mistress, and she forgets even herself for his sake.

   • 1895 October, Stephen Crane, chapter X, in The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 103:

     But he continued his harangue without waiting for a reply.

Translations

impassioned speech

• Armenian: ճառ (hy) (čaṙ)
• Bulgarian: публична реч f (publična reč)
• Catalan: arenga (ca) f
• Czech: plamenná řeč f, tiráda (cs) f
• Finnish: palopuhe (fi)
• French: harangue (fr) f
• German: Moralpredigt (de) f
• Greek: φιλιππικός (el) (filippikós)
• Italian: arringa (it) f, concione (it) f
• Korean: 열변(熱辯ねつべん) (ko) (yeolbyeon)
• Manx: ard-loayrtys m
• Occitan: arenga f
• Russian: страстное обраще́ние n (strastnoje obraščénije)
• Spanish: arenga (es) f, soflama (es)
• Welsh: araith (cy) f, anerchiad m

tirade

• Bulgarian: тирада (bg) f (tirada)
• Catalan: arenga (ca) f, arenga (ca) f
• Czech: tiráda (cs) f, kázání (cs) n
• Dutch: preek (nl)
• Finnish: vuodatus (fi), saarna (fi)
• French: sermon (fr), remontrance (fr) f, harangue (fr) f
• German: Moralpredigt (de), Tirade (de) f, Schmährede (de) f, Sermon (de) m
• Greek: αναβαλλόμενος (el) (anavallómenos), εξάψαλμος (el) (exápsalmos)
• Manx: ard-loayrtys m
• Occitan: arenga f
• Spanish: sermón (es) m, arenga (es) f, diatriba (es) f, despotrique (es) m, soflama (es) f
• Swedish: harang (sv) c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Northern Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} xurrîn (ku), ^{(please verify)} lêheytandin (ku)

Verb

harangue (third-person singular simple present harangues, present participle haranguing, simple past and past participle harangued)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To give a forceful and lengthy lecture or criticism to someone.

   Synonyms: admonish, berate, lecture

   The angry motorist leapt from his car to harangue the other driver.

   • 1711 [December?] (date written), Jonathan Swift, “An Excellent New Song. Being the Intended Speech of a Famous Orator against Peace [i.e., Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham].”, in Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], new edition, volume VII, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1801, →OCLC, page 72:

     He has vamp'd an old speech, and the court to their sorrow, / Shall hear him harangue against Prior to morrow.

   • 1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter XV, in Mansfield Park: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 293:

     This picture of her consequence had some effect, for no one loved better to lead than Maria;—and with far more good humour she answered, "I am much obliged to you, Edmund;—you mean very well, I am sure—but I still think you see things too strongly; and I really cannot undertake to harangue all the rest upon a subject of this kind.—There would be the greatest indecorum I think."

   • 1993 July 7, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic):

     It's a tradition that when you harangue the multitudes, you stand on a soapbox.

Related terms

• haranguer

Translations

to give a forceful lecture

• Finnish: saarnata (fi), paasata (fi)
• French: sermonner (fr)
• Greek: κατσαδιάζω (el) (katsadiázo), εξαπολύω φιλιππικό (exapolýo filippikó), ψέλνω τたうοおみくろんνにゅー αναβαλλόμενο (psélno ton anavallómeno), ρίχνω εξάψαλμο (ríchno exápsalmo)

  Ancient Greek: ἐπιδημηγορέω (epidēmēgoréō)

• Norman: achîtrer
• Spanish: arengar (es)

to address the public

• Greek: δημηγορώ (el) (dimigoró)

  Ancient Greek: ἀγορεύω (agoreúō)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Northern Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} xurrîn (ku), ^{(please verify)} lêheytandin (ku)

French

Pronunciation

• ^{(aspirated h)} IPA^(key): /a.ʁɑ̃ɡ/
• Homophones: haranguent, harangues

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle French harangue (“a public address, public discourse”), from Old Italian aringo (“arena, public square, platform”), from Frankish *hring (“circle, ring”) or Gothic *𐌷𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍃 (*hriggs, “ring, circle”) or a compound containing it, both from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“circle, ring”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krengʰ- (“to turn, bend”), from *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate with Old High German hring (“circle, ring”), Old English hring (“circle, ring”). Alternative etymology suggests the possibility that the Italian word may be derived from a Frankish compound *hari-hring (“circular gathering”, literally “host-ring or army-ring”). More at here, ring.

Noun

harangue f (plural harangues)

1. harangue

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

harangue

1. inflection of haranguer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “harangue”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.