oratory

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɒɹət(ə)ɹi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔ.ɹə.tɔ.ɹi/

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From Middle English oratorie, from Anglo-Norman oratorie, Middle French oratoire, and their source, Late Latin ōrātōrium. Doublet of oratorio.

London Oratory (2 and 3).

oratory (plural oratories)

1. A private chapel or prayer room. [from 14th c.]
   • 1764, Horace Walpole, “chapter II”, in The Castle of Otranto:

     I will retire to my oratory, and pray to the blessed Virgin to inspire you with her holy counsels […] .

2. A Roman Catholic chapel; a building for public or private worship that is not a parish church.
   • 1876, Michael Comerford, The Book of Holy Indulgences […] , page 29:

     By public oratories are meant those attached to monasteries, convents, seminaries, etc., having a public entrance by which the faithful have access to them.

3. (specifically) A Catholic church belonging to the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri.
   • 2006, Judith F. Champ, William Bernard Ullathorne, 1806–1889: A Different Kind of Monk, →ISBN, page 168:

     They had been given the old Oscott College premises as a temporary home, but were content there until Oratories could be established in the cities. St Philip Neri had specifically intended that the Oratory should be a city-based form of communal and missionary life.

• (church of the Oratory of St Philip Neri): Oratory

Borrowed from Latin ōrātōria, from the feminine of ōrātōrius (“oratorial”).

oratory (uncountable)

1. The art of public speaking, especially in a formal, expressive, or forceful manner. [from 16th c.]
2. Eloquence; the quality of artistry and persuasiveness in speech or writing.
   • 2024, Taylor Luck and Fatima AbdulKarim, Palestinian Mandela? Marwan Barghouti, imprisoned preacher of unity., in: The Christian Science Monitor, April 1 2024

     Rising from humble farmhand to community organizer to a leader of the national Fatah party, Mr. Barghouti became known for his soaring oratory and common touch.

• (art of public speaking): public speaking

oratory

1. Alternative form of oratorie