Rhetoric opens with rh-, which transliterates the Greek letter rho carrying its rough breathing — a sound English never had and does not attempt. It is one of the most dependable Greek markers in English, alongside rhythm, rhinoceros and hemorrhage.
The Greek is rhētorikē tekhnē, "the art of an orator," from rhētōr, "speaker, master speaker, teacher of rhetoric," related to a word meaning simply "that which is spoken." English took it in the early 1300s through Old French, which had spelled it retorike without the h; the classical rh- was restored later, as it was in rhyme. The derogatory undertone is not a modern development: since classical times the word has carried a suggestion of artificial oratory, ostentatious declamation as opposed to natural speech.
rhetoric (n.) early 14c., rethorike , "the art of eloquence and persuasiveness in language, the art of using language to influence others," from Old French retorike , rethorique (Modern French rhétorique ) and directly from Latin rhetorice , from Greek rhētorik ē tekhnē "art of an orator," from rhētōr (genitive rhētoros ) "speaker, master speaker, orator; artist of discourse; teacher of rhetoric," especially (in the Attic official language), "orator in public." This is related to rhesis "speech," rhema "word, phrase, verb," literally "that which is spoken" (from PIE *wre-tor- , from root *were- (3) "to speak;" see verb ). Since classical times with a derogatory suggestion of "artificial oratory" as opposed to what is natural or unaffected, "ostentatious declamation." also from early 14c.
rhetoric came in through Greek, and its spelling follows that family's conventions.
How that family writes these sounds
| /r/ at the start | rh-rhythm, rhetoric |
What gives it away on the page
| rh-, -rrh- | Transliterates ρ with its rough breathing.rhythm, rhetoric, hemorrhage, catarrh |