A performer who throws their voice to make it seem like a puppet or dummy is speaking.
From Latin 'ventriloquus,' from 'venter' (belly) + 'loqui' (to speak). The Romans believed ventriloquists literally spoke from their bellies. The -ist suffix denotes a person who practices a skill.
The Romans literally called them 'belly-speakers' because they thought the sound was coming from the performer's stomach! It's a perfect example of how science fiction can be embedded in old words—people imagined impossible things and named them.
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