# talk
## English
### Pronunciation

* (UK)
** (Received Pronunciation) enPR: tôk IPA: /tɔːk/
** (Standard Southern British, MLE) IPA: [tʰoːk]
*** Audio (Southern England):(file)
*** Audio (UK); “to talk”:(file)
** (Scotland) IPA: /tɔk/
* (US)
** (General American) IPA: /tɔk/
** (cot–caught merger) enPR: tŏk IPA: /tɑk/, [tʰɑk], [tʰäk], [tʰak]
*** Audio (US, cot–caught merger):(file)
** (African-American Vernacular) IPA: /tɔʊ̯k/
* (Canada) IPA: /tɒk/
* (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA: /toːk/
* Homophones: torc, torq, torque (all non-rhotic); tock (cot–caught merger)
* Rhymes: -ɔːk

### Etymology 1

From Middle English talken, talkien, from Old English *tealcian (“to talk, chat”), from Proto-West Germanic *talkōn, from Proto-Germanic *talkōną (“to talk, chatter”), frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *talōną (“to count, recount, tell”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, count”), equivalent to tell + -k.
Cognate with Scots talk (“to talk”), Low German taalken (“to talk”). Related also to Danish tale (“to talk, speak”), Swedish tala (“to talk, speak, say, chatter”), Icelandic tala (“to talk”), Norwegian tale (“speech”), Old English talian (“to count, calculate, reckon, account, consider, think, esteem, value; argue; tell, relate; impute, assign”). More at tale. Despite the surface similarity, unrelated to Proto-Indo-European *telkʷ- (“to talk”) (due to Grimm's law), which is the source of loquacious.

#### Alternative forms

* taulke (obsolete)

#### Verb

talk (third-person singular simple present talks, present participle talking, simple past and past participle talked)
* (intransitive) To communicate, usually by means of speech.
    Let's sit down and talk.
    Although I don't speak Chinese, I managed to talk with the villagers using signs and gestures.
** c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 166:I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk with you, and so following, but I will not eat with you.
** 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 99:Then he commenced to talk, really talk. and inside of two flaps of a herring's fin he had me mesmerized, like Eben Holt's boy at the town hall show. He talked about the ills of humanity, and the glories of health and Nature and service and land knows what all. […] It was a chance he was offering me, a wonderful, eighteen carat, solid gold chance.
** 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:Mr. Campion appeared suitably impressed and she warmed to him. He was very easy to talk to with those long clown lines in his pale face, a natural goon, born rather too early she suspected.
** 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
    Let’s go to my office and talk. ― I like to talk with you, Ms. Weaver.
       Audio (US):(file)
** 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 203:“ […] They talk of you as if you were Croesus—and I expect the beggars sponge on you unconscionably.” 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.
* (transitive, informal) To discuss; to talk about.
    They sat down to talk business.
    That's enough about work, let's talk holidays!
* (transitive) To speak (a certain language).
    We talk French sometimes.
* (transitive, informal, chiefly used in progressive tenses) Used to emphasise the importance, size, complexity etc. of the thing mentioned.
    Are you interested in the job? They're talking big money.
    We're not talking rocket science here: it should be easy.
* (intransitive, slang) To confess, especially implicating others.
    Suppose he talks?
    She can be relied upon not to talk.
    They tried to make me talk.
* (intransitive) To criticize someone for something of which one is guilty oneself.
    I am not the one to talk.
    She is a fine one to talk.
    You should talk.
    Look who's talking.
* (intransitive) To gossip; to create scandal.
    People will talk.
    Aren't you afraid the neighbours will talk?
* (transitive) To manifest outwardly in speech, as opposed to reality or action.
** 1979 December 22, S. J. Harris, “Life And Spirit”, in Gay Community News, volume 2, number 22, page 5:Remember that Christ and Christianity may not always be the same thing; e.g. Jerry Falwell talks "Christianity" but practices hatred […] which is diametrically opposed to what Jesus really taught.
* (informal, chiefly used in progressive tenses) To influence someone to express something, especially a particular stance or viewpoint or in a particular manner.
    That's not like you at all, Jared. The drugs are talking. Snap out of it!
** 2013, Stephen Coonts, Fortunes of War:"So, are you going to give up all this good living and easy money and come fly for the Russians?" "Hello no. I told you that yesterday." "That was your wallet talking. The shooting has started. Now I appeal to your patriotism, your manhood, your sense of duty."

##### Conjugation

$^†$ Archaic or obsolete.

##### Synonyms

* See Thesaurus:talk

##### Coordinate terms

* listen

##### Derived terms

* all talk and trousers
* bad-talk
* betalk
* double-talk
* fast-talk
* hark who's talking
* I don't want to talk about it
* if these walls could talk
* knock-and-talk
* like talking to a brick wall
* like talking to a wall
* look who's talking
* now you're talking
* one to talk
* on talking terms
* press-to-talk
* push-to-talk
* shit-talking
* sleep-talk
* smooth talk
* smooth-talking
* smooth talking
* sweet-talk
* talk a big game
* talk a blue streak
* talk about
* talk about the weather
* talk against time
* talk a good game
* talk-aloud protocol
* talk aloud protocol
* talk a mile a minute
* talk and die syndrome
* talk around
* talk at
* talkative
* talk back
* talk big
* talk cock
* talk dirty
* talk down
* talk down to
* talker
* talk everything
* talk fast and loose
* talk in circles
* talking board
* talking catfish
* talking-drummer
* talking film
* talking movie
* talking phase
* talking picture
* talking-point
* talking stick
* talking to
* talk into
* talk like a book
* talk like an apothecary
* talk nasty
* talk of
* talk of the devil
* talk one's way out of
* talk out
* talk out of
* talk out of one's arse
* talk out of one's ass
* talk out of one's ear
* talk out of school
* talk out of turn
* talk out one's ass
* talk over
* talk over someone's head
* talk past
* talk round
* talk sense
* talk shit, talk shite
* talk shop
* talk smack
* talk softly and carry a big stick
* talk someone into something
* talk someone out of something
* talk someone's arm off
* talk someone's ear off
* talk someone's head off
* talk someone under the table
* talk the ears off a donkey
* talk the hind leg off a donkey
* talk the hind legs off a donkey
* talk the leg off the Lamb of God
* talk the legs off a pot
* talk the talk
* talk through
* talk through one's ass
* talk through one's hat
* talk through one's nose
* talk to
* talk to a brick wall
* talk to God
* talk to God on the big white telephone
* talk to oneself
* talk to Ralph on the big white telephone
* talk to the hand
* talk to the hand 'cause the face ain't listening
* talk trash
* talk truth to power
* talk turkey
* talk up
* talky
* trash-talk
* ve haf vays of making you talk
* you can talk
* you can't talk
* you don't know what you're talking about
* you shouldn't talk
* you should talk

##### Translations
### Etymology 2

From Middle English talk, talke (“conversation; discourse”), from the verb (see above).

#### Noun

talk (countable and uncountable, plural talks)
* A conversation or discussion; usually serious, but informal.
    We need to have a talk about your homework.
** 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, pages 198–199:All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill. […] Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connection—or rather as a transition from the subject that started their conversation—such talk had been distressingly out of place.
* A lecture.
    There is a talk on Shakespeare tonight.
* (uncountable) Gossip; rumour.
    There's been talk lately about the two of them.
* (preceded by the; often qualified by a following of) A major topic of social discussion.
    She is the talk of the day.
    The musical is the talk of the town.
* (preceded by the) A customary conversation by parent(s) or guardian(s) with their (often teenage) child about a reality of life; in particular:
** A customary conversation in which parent(s) explain sexual intercourse to their child.
    Have you had the talk with Jay yet?
** (US) A customary conversation in which the parent(s) of a black child explain the racism and violence they may face, especially when interacting with police, and strategies to manage it.
*** 2012, Crystal McCrary, Inspiration: Profiles of Black Women Changing Our World, →ISBN:Later, I made sure to have the talk with my son about being a black boy, […]
*** 2016, Jim Wallis, America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge, →ISBN:All the black parents I have ever spoken to have had “the talk” with their sons and daughters. “The talk” is a conversation about how to behave and not to behave with police.
*** 2016, Stuart Scott, Larry Platt, Every Day I Fight, →ISBN, page 36:Now, I was a black man in the South, and my folks had had “the talk” with me. No, not the one about the birds and bees. This one is about the black man and the police.
* (uncountable, not preceded by an article) Empty boasting, promises or claims.
    The party leader's speech was all talk.
* (usually in the plural) Meeting to discuss a particular matter.
    Synonyms: conference, debate, discussion, meeting
    The leaders of the G8 nations are currently in talks over nuclear weapons.

##### Synonyms

* See also Thesaurus:talk

##### Derived terms

* all talk
* all talk and no action
* all talk and no cider
* baby talk
* betalk
* big talk
* book talk
* boy talk
* brush talk
* chalk and talk
* chalk talk
* chant talk
* clapper talk
* coffee talk
* crib talk
* crosstalk
* cross talk
* dharma talk
* dirty talk
* double talk
* dread talk
* drum talk
* elevator talk
* girl talk
* guy talk
* happy talk
* hot talk
* idle talk
* lightning talk
* locker room talk
* man talk
* monkey talk
* movie talk
* peace talk
* pep talk
* pillow talk
* plenary talk
* potty talk
* real talk
* rough talk
* self-talk
* self talk
* sex talk
* shit talk
* shit-talk
* shop talk
* side talk
* sleep talk
* smack talk
* smack-talk
* small talk
* smooth talk
* stack talk
* straight talk
* street talk
* sweet talk
* table talk
* talk-aholic
* talkback
* talk battery
* talk bomb
* talk box
* talkie
* talk is cheap
* talk jock
* talk jockey
* talk of the town
* talk page
* talk radio
* talk show
* talksome
* talk story
* talk the talk
* talk time
* TV talk
* twin talk
* uptalk
* uptalking
* walk and talk
* walkie-talkie
* walk the talk
* woman talk
* X-talk

##### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Related terms

English terms starting with “talk”

## Chinese
### Etymology

From English talk.

### Pronunciation

* Cantonese (Jyutping): tok$^1$
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: tok$^1$
*** Yale: tōk
*** Cantonese Pinyin: tok$^7$
*** Guangdong Romanization: tog$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /tʰɔːk̚⁵/

### Noun

talk
* (Hong Kong Cantonese) talk; lecture; seminar
    聽talk／听talk [Cantonese] ― teng$^1$ tok$^1$ [Jyutping] ― to attend a talk

### Verb

talk
* (Hong Kong Cantonese) to talk (especially a lot)
    talk得 [Cantonese] ― tok$^1$ dak$^1$ [Jyutping] ― talkative

### References

* English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

## Danish
### Etymology

Borrowed from French talc or German Talk.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /talk/, [tˢalˀɡ̊]

### Noun

talk c (singular definite talken, not used in plural form)
* talc (a soft, fine-grained mineral used in talcum powder)

#### Related terms

* talkum

## Dutch
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Etymology 1
#### Noun

talk m (uncountable)
* talc (soft, fine-grained mineral used in talcum powder)

##### Descendants

* → Indonesian: talk

### Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch talch, from Old Dutch *talg, from Proto-West Germanic *talg, from Proto-Germanic *talgaz. More at English tallow.

#### Noun

talk c (uncountable)
* Alternative form of talg (“tallow”)

##### Descendants

* Negerhollands: talk

### Anagrams

* kalt

## Hawaiian Creole
### Etymology

From English talk.

### Verb

talk
* to talk, speak
    You talk Pidgin?Do you speak Pidgin?

## Indonesian
### Etymology

From Dutch talk, from Middle French talc, from Arabic طَلْق (ṭalq), from Persian تلک (talk).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (standard) [ˈtalk], [ˈtalə̆k]
* Hyphenation: talk

### Noun

talk (plural talk-talk)
* talc

#### Alternative forms

* talêk

### Further reading

* “talk” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Polish
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin talcum.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtalk/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -alk
* Syllabification: talk

### Noun

talk m inan
* (mineralogy) talc (soft mineral)
* talc, talcum powder

#### Derived terms

* talkowy
* talkować impf

### Further reading

* talk in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* talk in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Swedish
### Etymology

From German Talk

### Noun

talk c
* talc (a soft, fine-grained mineral used in talcum powder)