vox humana

[ voks hyoo-mey-nuh, -mah-, -man-uh ]

noun

1. a pipe-organ stop designed to produce tones resembling those of the human voice.

vox humana

/ hjuːˈmɑːnə /

noun

1. a reed stop on an organ supposedly imitative of the human voice

Word History and Origins

Origin of vox humana¹

First recorded in 1720–30, vox humana is from Latin vōx humāna “human voice”

Word History and Origins

Origin of vox humana¹

C18: from Latin: human voice

Example Sentences

Among the hundreds of stops that organists use to imitate different instruments, there is one labeled vox humana or “human voice.”

From New York Times

There is a vox humana stop out in whatever organ plays it, magnetic to the human passions that memory and imagination keep.

From Project Gutenberg

We went through the same process again, only I kept my foot on the vox humana pedal until I had crammed it 'way into fortissimo.

From Project Gutenberg

But she pulled out every stop of the feminine organ, the clarion, the stopped diapason, flute, bird-stop, vox humana, and, lastly, the tremolo stop.

From Project Gutenberg

And the windows—the sunlight filtering in through that one on the left was like the organ when the vox humana pedal is on—all shimmering.

From Project Gutenberg