# speak
## English
### Alternative forms

* speake, speke (obsolete)

### Etymology

From Middle English speken (“to speak”), from Old English specan (“to speak”). This is usually taken to be an irregular alteration of earlier sprecan (“to speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *sprekan, from Proto-Germanic *sprekaną (“to speak, make a sound”), from Proto-Indo-European *spreg- (“to make a sound, utter, speak”). Finding this proposed loss of r from the stable cluster spr unparalleled, Hill instead sets up a different root, Proto-West Germanic *spekan (“to negotiate”) from Proto-Indo-European *bʰégʾ-e- (“to distribute”) with *s-mobile, which collapsed in meaning with *sprekan ("to speak" < "to crackle, prattle") and so came to be seen as a free variant thereof.
Cognate with West Frisian sprekke, Low German spreken (“to speak”), Dutch spreken (“to speak”), German sprechen (“to speak”), and also with Albanian shpreh (“to utter, voice, express”) through Indo-European.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /spiːk/
* (General American) enPR: spēk, IPA: /spik/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (UK); “to speak”:(file)
* Rhymes: -iːk

### Verb

speak (third-person singular simple present speaks, present participle speaking, simple past spoke or (archaic) spake, past participle spoken or (colloquial, nonstandard) spoke)
* (intransitive) To communicate with one's voice, to say words out loud.
** 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 203:And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them.
    I was so surprised I couldn't speak.
    You're speaking too fast.
* (intransitive, reciprocal) To have a conversation.
    It's been ages since we've spoken.
* (by extension) To communicate or converse by some means other than orally, such as writing or facial expressions.
    He spoke of it in his diary.
    Speak to me only with your eyes.
    Actions speak louder than words.
** 1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC, page 4:Then said the gods, making the signs of the gods and speaking with Their hands lest the silence of Pegāna should blush; then said the gods to one another, speaking with Their hands: “Let Us make worlds to amuse Ourselves while Māna rests. Let Us make worlds and Life and Death, and colours in the sky; only let Us not break the silence upon Pegāna.”
** 1941, Theodore Roethke, “Open House”, in Open House, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC; republished in The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke, London: Faber and Faber […], 1968, →OCLC, page 3:The deed will speak the truth In language strict and pure. I stop the lying mouth: Rage warps my clearest cry To witless agony.
* (intransitive) To deliver a message to a group; to deliver a speech.
    This evening I shall speak on the topic of correct English usage.
* (transitive, stative) To be able to communicate in a language.
    He speaks Mandarin fluently.
** (by extension) To be able to communicate in the manner of specialists in a field.
*** 1998, Nigel G Fielding, Raymond M Lee, Computer Analysis and Qualitative Research‎, page 4:Even those who did 'speak computer' did so sometimes in a less than fluent way which required a jump to be made from a press-the-right-button stage to having the confidence to experiment.
* (transitive) To utter.
** 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 9:5:And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
    I was so surprised that I couldn't speak a word.
* (transitive) To communicate (some fact or feeling); to bespeak, to indicate.
** 1785, Frances Burney, Diary and letters of Madame d'Arblay, author of Evelina, Cecilia, &c., link:Their behaviour to each other speaks the most cordial confidence and happiness.
** 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “A Bosom Friend.”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 56:There he sat, his very indifference speaking a nature in which there lurked no civilized hypocrisies and bland deceits.
* (informal, transitive, sometimes humorous) To understand (as though it were a language).
    Sorry, I don't speak idiot.
    So you can program in C. But do you speak C++?
* (intransitive) To produce a sound; to sound.
** c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene vi], page 150:Make all our trumpets speak.
* Of a bird, to be able to vocally reproduce words or phrases from a human language.
** 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 220:Miles tremblingly confessed that it had, but to no purpose; a parrot being able to speak better in three weeks than a brazen head.
* (transitive, archaic) To address; to accost; to speak to.
** 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ecclesiasticus 13:6:[He will] thee in hope; he will speak thee fair.
** 1847, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Threnody”, in Poems, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, →OCLC, page 239:Each village senior paused to scan / And speak the lovely caravan.
** 1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Economy”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC:To oversee all the details yourself in person; to be at once pilot and captain, and owner and underwriter; to buy and sell and keep the accounts; to read every letter received, and write or read every letter sent; to superintend the discharge of imports night and day; to be upon many parts of the coast almost at the same time—often the richest freight will be discharged upon a Jersey shore;—to be your own telegraph, unweariedly sweeping the horizon, speaking all passing vessels bound coastwise; [...]
** 2013, George Francis Dow, Slave Ships and Slaving (quoting an older text)
    Spoke the ship Union of Newport, without any anchor. The next day ran down to Acra, where the windlass was again capsized and the pawls broken.

#### Usage notes

* Saying that one speaks a language often means that one can or knows how to speak it (“I speak Italian”); similarly, “I don’t speak Italian” usually means that one cannot, rather than that one chooses not to.

#### Conjugation

$^†$ Archaic or obsolete.

#### Synonyms

* articulate, talk, verbalize

#### Antonyms

* be silent

#### Coordinate terms

* sign

#### Derived terms

* bespeak
* forespeak
* forspeak
* forthspeak
* misspeak
* outspeak
* overspeak
* public speaking
* speakable
* speaker
* speakeasy
* speakworthy
* re-speak
* unspeak
* unspeakable
* upspeak
* withspeak
phrasal verbs
* speak down
* speak for
* speak out
* speak to
* speak up
idioms
* actions speak louder than words
* as she is spoke
* on speaking terms
* so to speak
* speak as one finds
* speak for oneself
* speak highly of
* speak ill of
* speak in circles
* speak in tongues
* speak of the devil
* speak one's mind
* speak softly and carry a big stick
* speak someone's language
* speak volumes
* speak with one voice
* spoken for
* as we speak
* broadly speaking
* bullspeak
* can I speak to the manager haircut
* climate-speak
* does anyone here speak English
* dollar-speaking
* do you speak English
* even as we speak
* evil-speaking
* facts speak louder than words
* free-speaking
* generally speaking
* give someone a speaking to
* home-speaking
* how many languages do you speak
* I don't speak English
* in a manner of speaking
* in a way of speaking
* I want to speak to the manager haircut
* like speaking to a brick wall
* like speaking to a wall
* native-speaking
* not to speak of
* on speaking terms
* oul-spoken
* plain-speaking
* plain-spoken
* please speak more slowly
* public speaking
* roughly speaking
* short-spoken
* smooth-spoken
* speak by the card
* speak down to
* speak highly
* speak in dollars
* speaking in tongues
* speaking of
* speaking terms
* speaking trumpet
* speaking tube
* speaking voice
* speaking with tongues
* speak in terms
* speak like a book
* speak now or forever hold your peace
* speak of
* speak of the devil and he appears
* speak of the devil and he shall appear
* speak one's conscience
* speak out of turn
* speak too soon
* speak truth to power
* speak with a forked tongue
* spoken for
* spoken pause
* spoken word
* strictly speaking
* to speak of
* well-spoken
* what languages do you speak

#### Related terms

* speech

#### Translations

Abkhaz: азаԥра (azapra)
Afrikaans: praat (af)
Ainu: イェ (ye)
Akan: kasa
Albanian: flas (sq)
Arabic: تَحَدَّثَ (taḥaddaṯa), تَكَلَّمَ (ar) (takallama)
Algerian Arabic: حكى, هدر
Egyptian Arabic: كلم (kallim)
Moroccan Arabic: هدر (hdar), تكلم (tkallem), دوى (dwa)
North Levantine Arabic: حكى (ḥaka)
South Levantine Arabic: حكى (ḥaka)
Aragonese: fablar (an)
Armenian: խոսել (hy) (xosel)
Old Armenian: խօսիմ (xōsim)
Aromanian: grescu, zburãscu
Ashokan Prakrit: *𑀩𑁄𑀮𑁆𑀮𑁆 (*boll)
Assamese: কথা কোৱা (kotha küa), কোৱা (küa), বোল (bül)
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܗܲܡܙܸܡ (hāmzim), ܡܲܠܸܠ (mālil), ܡܨܵܘܹܬ݂ (mṣaweṯ)
Asturian: falar (ast)
Avar: кӏалъазе (kʼalˢaze)
Azerbaijani: danışmaq (az)
Bashkir: һөйләшеү (höyləşew)
Basque: berba egin
Belarusian: гавары́ць (be) impf (havarýcʹ), сказа́ць pf (skazácʹ), размаўля́ць impf (razmaŭljácʹ), размо́віць pf (razmóvicʹ)
Bengali: বলা (bn) (bola)
Bhojpuri: बोलल (bōlal)
Bislama: toktok
Borôro: mago
Breton: komz (br)
Bulgarian: гово́ря (bg) impf (govórja), разгова́рям (bg) impf (razgovárjam), разгово́ря pf (razgovórja)
Burmese: ပြော (my) (prau:), (formal) မြွက် (my) (mrwak)
Catalan: parlar (ca)
Central Atlas Tamazight: sawl, ssiwel
Chechen: къамел да (qʼamel da)
Cherokee: ᏂᎦᏪᎠ (nigawea)
Chickasaw: anompoli
Chinese:
Cantonese: 講 / 讲 (yue) (gong$^2$)
Dungan: фә (fə), шә (šə)
Eastern Min: 講 / 讲 (gōng)
Hakka: 講 / 讲 (kóng)
Hokkien: 講 / 讲 (zh-min-nan) (kóng)
Mandarin: 講 / 讲 (zh) (jiǎng), 說話 / 说话 (zh) (shuōhuà), 講話 / 讲话 (zh) (jiǎnghuà), 說 / 说 (zh) (shuō)
Northern Min: 講 / 讲 (gǒ̤ng)
Wu: 講 / 讲
Cornish: kewsel (kw) (Revived Middle Cornish), kowsel (Revived Late Cornish), kows (Revived Late Cornish)
Corsican: parlà (co)
Crimean Tatar: söyleşmek, laf etmek, aytmaq
Czech: mluvit (cs) impf, hovořit (cs) impf
Dalmatian: faular
Danish: tale (da)
Dutch: spreken (nl)
Egyptian: (ḏd)
Esperanto: paroli (eo)
Estonian: rääkima (et)
Even: гӫндэй (gjöndəj)
Evenki: гунми (gunmi)
Faroese: tosa
Fijian: vosa
Finnish: puhua (fi)
French: parler (fr)
Middle French: parler
Old French: parler, paroler
Friulian: fevelâ
Galician: falar (gl)
Georgian: ლაპარაკი (laṗaraḳi)
German: sprechen (de), reden (de)
Alemannic German: rede
Gothic: 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌰𐌽 (qiþan), 𐍂𐍉𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (rōdjan)
Greek: μιλώ (el) (miló), λέω (el) (léo)
Ancient: λαλέω (laléō)
Guaraní: ñe'ẽ (gn)
Haitian Creole: pale
Hebrew: דיבר \ דִּבֵּר (he) (dibér)
Higaonon: minikagi
Hindi: बोलना (hi) (bolnā), कहना (hi) (kahnā)
Hungarian: beszél (hu)
Icelandic: tala (is)
Ido: parolar (io)
Indonesian: berbicara (id), berpidato (id)
Ingrian: läätä
Interlingua: parlar (ia)
Irish: labhair
Istriot: favalà
Istro-Romanian: ganęi, kuvintå
Italian: parlare (it)
Itsekiri: fọ̀
Japanese: 話す (ja) (はなす, hanasu), 語る (ja) (かたる, kataru), 言う (ja) (いう, iu), しゃべる (ja) (shaberu)
Javanese: omong-omong
Jeju: ᄀᆞᆮ다 (gawtda), 말ᄀᆞᆮ다 (malgawtda), 이왁ᄒᆞ다 (iwakhawda)
Judeo-Italian: דברר (dabberare)
Kabuverdianu: fala, papia, papia
Kannada: ಎನ್ (kn) (en), ಎನು (kn) (enu), ಮಾತಾಡು (kn) (mātāḍu), ಮಾತನಾಡು (kn) (mātanāḍu)
Kazakh: айту (kk) (aitu), сөйлеу (kk) (söileu), сөйлесу (kk) (söilesu)
Khmer: និយាយ (km) (niyiəy), ក្លាវ (km) (klaaw)
Konkani: उलौचे (ulauce)
Korean: 말하다 (ko) (malhada), 말씀하다 (ko) (malsseumhada) (honorific), 이야기하다 (ko) (iyagihada)
Kumyk: сёйлемек (söylemek), лакъыр этмек (laqır etmek)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: axaftin (ku)
Kyrgyz: сүйлөө (ky) (süylöö)
Ladin:
badiot: baié
fascian: rejonèr
gherdëina: rujené
Ladino: avlar, favlar
Lao: ເວົ້າ (wao), ພູດ (phūt), ກ່າວ (lo) (kāo), ຄຸຍ (lo) (khuy)
Latgalian: runuot
Latin: loquor (la), dīcō (la), fābulor, for (la), effor
Latvian: runāt (lv)
Laz: isinapams
Lithuanian: kalbėti (lt)
Lü: ᦀᦴᧉ (˙ʼuu²), ᦔᦱᧅ (ṗaak)
Luxembourgish: schwätzen
Macedonian: зборува (mk) impf (zboruva), говори impf (govori)
Maharastri Prakrit: 𑀩𑁄𑀮𑁆𑀮𑀇 (bŏllaï)
Malay: bercakap (ms)
Malayalam: സംസാരിക്കുക (ml) (saṁsārikkuka)
Maltese: tkellem
Manchu: ᡤᡳᠰᡠᡵᡝᠮᠪᡳ (gisurembi)
Marathi: बोलणे (mr) (bolṇe)
Meänkieli: praatata
Middle English: speken, worden
Mingrelian: რაგადი (ragadi), რაგაჯი (ragaǯi)
Mirandese: falar
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: ярих (mn) (jarix), хэлэх (mn) (xelex)
Mongolian: ᠶᠠᠷᠢᠬᠤ (yariqu), ᠬᠡᠯᠡᠬᠦ (kelekü)
Moroccan Amazigh: ⵙⴰⵡⵍ (sawl), ⵙⵙⵉⵡⵍ (ssiwl)
Mwani: kusowera
Nahuatl: tlatoa
Navajo: yáshtiʼ
Neapolitan: parlà
Nepali: बोल्नु (bolnu)
Ngarrindjeri: kungun
Norman: pâler (Jersey), parlaïr (Guernsey)
North Frisian: (Mooring) spreege; (Föhr-Amrum) snaake, spreeg
Northern Ohlone: nonwente
Northern Thai: ᩋᩪ᩶ (u)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: snakke (no), preke (no), tale (no)
Nynorsk: snakka, tala
Nǀuu: ǂxoa
Occitan: parlar (oc)
Ojibwe: giigido
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: говорити impf (govoriti)
Glagolitic: ⰳⱁⰲⱁⱃⰻⱅⰹ impf (govoriti)
Old East Slavic: говорити impf (govoriti)
Old English: sprecan, specan
Old Galician-Portuguese: falar
Old Occitan: parlar
Old Saxon: sprekan
Ossetian: дзурын (ʒuryn)
Pannonian Rusyn: бешедовац impf (bešedovac), гуториц impf (hutoric)
Pashto: خبرې کول (ps) (xabǝ́re kawǝ́l)
Pennsylvania German: schwetze
Persian:
Dari: گَپ زَدَن (gap zadan), صُحْبَت کَرْدَن (fa) (suhbat kardan)
Iranian Persian: حَرْف زَدَن (fa) (harf zadan), سُخَن گُفْتَن (soxan goftan), صُحْبَت کَرْدَن (fa) (sohbat kardan), گُفْتَن (fa) (goftan)
Piedmontese: parlé
Pipil: taketza, taquetza
Pitjantjatjara: wangkanyi
Polish: mówić (pl) impf, rozmawiać (pl) impf
Portuguese: falar (pt)
Punjabi: ਬੋਲਣਾ (bolṇā)
Quechua: rimay (qu), parlay, rimai
Romanian: a vorbi (ro), a discuta (ro)
Romansch: pledar, tschantschar
Russian: говори́ть (ru) impf (govorítʹ), разгова́ривать (ru) impf (razgovárivatʹ)
Sami:
Lule Sami: hållat
Northern Sami: hállat, hoallat, hupmat
Southern Sami: håaledh, håalodh, nåalodh
Samoan: tautala
Sanskrit: भाषते (sa) (bhāṣate), भणति (sa) (bhaṇati), ब्रवीति (sa) (bravīti)
Vedic: भनति (bhánati)
Santali: ᱨᱳᱲ (roṛ)
Sardinian: fabedda, faeddare, fueddai
Scottish Gaelic: bruidhinn
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: гово̀рити impf
Roman: govòriti (sh) impf
Shan: please add this translation if you can
Shona: kutaura
Sicilian: parrari (scn), parlari (scn)
Sinhalese: කථා කරනවා (kathā karanawā)
Slovak: hovoriť (sk) impf, rozprávať impf
Slovene: govoriti (sl) impf
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: powědaś impf, powěźeś pf
Upper Sorbian: rěčeć impf, porěčeć pf
Sotho: bua (st)
Southern Thai: แหลง
Spanish: hablar (es), disused: fablar / fabular (es)
Old Spanish: fablar
Sranan Tongo: bro
Svan: please add this translation if you can
Swahili: ongea
Swedish: tala (sv), prata (sv), snacka (sv)
Sylheti: ꠇꠕꠣ ꠇꠃꠣ (xotá xoua)
Tagalog: magsalita
Tahitian: parau
Tajik: гап задан (tg) (gap zadan), ҳарф задан (harf zadan), сухбат кардан (suxbat kardan), гуфтан (tg) (guftan)
Tamil: பேசு (ta) (pēcu)
Tatar: сөйләргә (tt) (söylärgä), әйтергә (tt) (äytergä), сөйләшергә (tt) (söyläşergä)
Telugu: మాట్లాడు (te) (māṭlāḍu)
Tetum: ko'alia
Thai: พูด (th) (pûut), กล่าว (th) (glàao)
Tibetan: སྐད་ཆ་བཤད (skad cha bshad)
Tocharian B: we-
Tupinambá: nhe'eng
Turkish: konuşmak (tr)
Turkmen: gürlemek, geplemek, sözlemek
Tuvan: чугаалаар (çugaalaar)
Udmurt: вераськыны (veraśkyny)
Ugaritic: 𐎄𐎁𐎗 (dbr)
Ukrainian: говори́ти (uk) impf (hovorýty), сказа́ти (uk) pf (skazáty); розмовля́ти (uk) impf (rozmovljáty),
Urdu: بولْنا (bolnā), کَہْنا (kahnā)
Uyghur: سۆزلىمەك (sözlimek), ئېيتماق (ëytmaq)
Uzbek: gaplashmoq (uz)
Venetan: parlar (vec)
Veps: pagišta
Vietnamese: nói (vi)
Volapük: spikön (vo)
Votic: pajatta
Walloon: cåzer (wa), divizer (wa), djåzer (wa), pårler (wa)
Welsh: siarad (cy), llefaru (cy)
West Frisian: sprekke
White Hmong: hais lus
Wolof: wax (wo)
Yakut: саҥар (sañar)
Yiddish: רעדן (yi) (redn)
Yoruba: sọ̀rọ̀
Yucatec Maya: tʼaan
Zhuang: gangj
Zulu: -khuluma :
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Noun

speak (countable and uncountable, plural speaks)
* (uncountable) language, jargon, or terminology used uniquely in a particular environment or group.
    corporate speak; IT speak
* (countable) Speech, conversation. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
* (countable, informal) Short for speaker point.
    We will deduct speaks for hesitation.

#### Derived terms

* artspeak
* cyberspeak
* diplospeak
* doublespeak
* Frogspeak
* lawyerspeak
* leetspeak
* medspeak
* Newspeak, newspeak
* speak-box
* therapy-speak
* Twitch-speak
* uwu speak
* weather speak

#### Translations
### Noun

speak (plural speaks)
* (dated) a low class bar, a speakeasy.

### References

* Hill, Eugen. "Die Präferenztheorie in der historischen Phonologie aus junggrammatischer Perspektive." Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft 28.2 (2009): 231–263.

### Anagrams

* peaks, Pasek, Paske, Peaks, Paeks, Akpes, Spake, sapek, kapes, pesak, spake

## Scots
### Etymology

From Old English sprecan.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [spɪk]
* (North Northern Scots) IPA: [spɛk]

### Verb

speak (third-person singular simple present speaks, present participle speakin, simple past spak, past participle spoken)
* to speak

#### Derived terms

* bespeak
* fair-spoken (“frank, friendly, suave”)
* ill-speak (“slander”)
* ill-speakin (“slanderous”)
* speak a wird (“listen to what is going to be said”)
* speak a wird tae (“admonish”)
* speak back (“reply, retort”)
* speak wi (“speak to (someone)”)
* unspeakable