What is "lip reading"

Lip \Lip\ (l[i^]p), n. [OE. lippe, AS. lippa; akin to D. lip, G. lippe, lefze, OHG. lefs, Dan. l[ae]be, Sw. l["a]pp, L. labium, labrum. Cf. Labial.]

1. One of the two fleshy folds which surround the orifice of the mouth in man and many other animals. In man the lips are organs of speech essential to certain articulations. Hence, by a figure they denote the mouth, or all the organs of speech, and sometimes speech itself.

   Thine own lips testify against thee.
   --Job xv. 6.

2. An edge of an opening; a thin projecting part of anything; a kind of short open spout; as, the lip of a vessel.

3. The sharp cutting edge on the end of an auger.

4. (Bot.)

   1. One of the two opposite divisions of a labiate corolla.

   2. The odd and peculiar petal in the Orchis family. See Orchidaceous.

5. (Zo["o]l.) One of the edges of the aperture of a univalve shell.

6. Impudent or abusive talk; as, don't give me any of your lip. [Slang] Syn: jaw. Lip bit, a pod auger. See Auger. Lip comfort, comfort that is given with words only. Lip comforter, one who comforts with words only. Lip labor, unfelt or insincere speech; hypocrisy. --Bale. Lip reading, the catching of the words or meaning of one speaking by watching the motion of his lips without hearing his voice. --Carpenter. Lip salve, a salve for sore lips. Lip service, expression by the lips of obedience and devotion without the performance of acts suitable to such sentiments. Lip wisdom, wise talk without practice, or unsupported by experience. Lip work.

   1. Talk.

   2. Kissing. [Humorous]
      --B. Jonson.

      To make a lip, to drop the under lip in sullenness or contempt.
      --Shak.

      To shoot out the lip (Script.), to show contempt by protruding the lip.

n. (alternative spelling of lipreading English)

Lip-reading, also known as lipreading or speechreading, is a technique of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue when normal sound is not available. It relies also on information provided by the context, knowledge of the language, and any residual hearing. Lip-reading is not easy, as this clip demonstrates. Although ostensibly used by deaf and hard-of-hearing people, most people with normal hearing process some speech information from sight of the moving mouth.