Definition
The sound produced when a person speaks or sings; someone's voice.
Example
Sa voix douce calme toujours les enfants.
Show translation
Her gentle voice always calms the children.
Etymology
From Latin *vox, vocis* ("voice, sound, word"), from Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ-* ("to speak"). The same Latin root gives English "vocal," "invoke," and "vocabulary," and Spanish *voz*.
Cultural note
In French, *voix* also carries the meaning of a vote or electoral voice — *donner sa voix à un candidat* means "to cast one's vote for a candidate." This double sense (spoken voice + democratic voice) is shared with English "voice" but is worth remembering as a false-friend trap with Spanish *voz*, which does not commonly extend to voting in everyday speech.