pilate voice
Preserved but no longer current.
A loud, ranting voice. In the old mysteries all tyrants were made to speak in a rough, ranting manner. Thus Bottom the Weaver (tf.v,), after a rant "to show his quality," exclaims, "That's 'Ercles' vein, a tyrant's vein"; and Hamlet describes a ranting actor as "out-heroding Herod.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “pilate voice” mean?
A loud, ranting voice. In the old mysteries all tyrants were made to speak in a rough, ranting manner. Thus Bottom the Weaver (tf.v,), after a rant "to show his quality," exclaims, "That's 'Ercles' vein, a tyrant's vein"; and Hamlet describes a ranting actor as "out-heroding Herod.
Is “pilate voice” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.