Meaning

noun using language effectively to please or persuade

noun high-flown style; excessive use of verbal ornamentation

noun loud and confused and empty talk

originFrom Middle English rethorik, rhetoric, from Old French rhetorique, from Latin rhētorica, from Ancient Greek ῥητορική (rhētorikḗ), ellipsis of ῥητορικὴ τέχνη (rhētorikḕ tékhnē), from ῥητορικός (rhētorikós, “concerning public speech”), from ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr, “public speaker”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0