rhetoric (n.)

early 14c., from Old French rethorique, from Latin rhetorice, from Greek rhētorike tekhnē  "art of an orator," from rhētōr (genitive rhētoros) "speaker, master speaker, orator; artist of discourse; teacher of rhetoric," especially (in the Attic official language), "orator in public," related to rhesis "speech," rhema "word, phrase, verb," literally "that which is spoken," from PIE *wre-tor-, from root *were- (3) "to speak" (source also of Old English word, Latin verbum, Greek eirein "to say;" see verb).