talk
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: tôk
ipa: /tɔːk/
ipa: [tʰoːk]
ipa: /tɔk/
ipa: /tɑːk/
note: without the cot–caught merger
ipa: /tɔk/
note: of Canada
enpr: tŏk
ipa: /tɑk/
note: of Canada
ipa: [tʰɑk]
note: of Canada
ipa: [tʰäk]
note: of Canada
note: African-American Vernacular
ipa: /tɔʊ̯k/
note: of the US
ipa: /tɒk/
ipa: /toːk/
homophone: torc
homophone: torq
homophone: torque (all non-rhotic)
homophone: tock (cot–caught merger)
rhymes: -ɔːk
Forms: form: talks
form: talking
form: talked
form: talked
form: no-table-tags
form: glossary
form: talk
form: talk
form: talked
form: talk
form: talkest
form: talked
form: talkedst
form: talks
form: talketh
form: talked
form: talk
form: talked
form: talk
form: talked
form: talk
form: -
form: talking
form: talked
form: taulke
Etymology: 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.
Senses: examples: text: Let's sit down and talk.
text: Although I don't speak Chinese, I managed to talk with the villagers using signs and gestures.
text: I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk with you, and so following, but I will not eat with you.
ref: 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:
text: 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.
ref: 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:
text: 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.
ref: 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
text: Let’s go to my office and talk. ― I like to talk with you, Ms. Weaver.
ref: 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
text: “[…] 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.
ref: 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 203:
glosses: To communicate, usually by means of speech.
examples: text: They sat down to talk business.
text: That's enough about work, let's talk holidays!
glosses: To discuss; to talk about.
examples: text: We talk French sometimes.
glosses: To speak (a certain language).
examples: text: Are you interested in the job? They're talking big money.
text: We're not talking rocket science here: it should be easy.
glosses: Used to emphasise the importance, size, complexity etc. of the thing mentioned.
raw_tags: used in progressive tenses
examples: text: Suppose he talks?
text: She can be relied upon not to talk.
text: They tried to make me talk.
glosses: To confess, especially implicating others.
examples: text: I am not the one to talk.
text: She is a fine one to talk.
text: You should talk.
text: Look who's talking.
glosses: To criticize someone for something of which one is guilty oneself.
examples: text: People will talk.
text: Aren't you afraid the neighbours will talk?
glosses: To gossip; to create scandal.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 1979 December 22, S. J. Harris, “Life And Spirit”, in Gay Community News, volume 2, number 22, page 5:
glosses: To manifest outwardly in speech, as opposed to reality or action.
examples: text: That's not like you at all, Jared. The drugs are talking. Snap out of it!
text: "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."
ref: 2013, Stephen Coonts, Fortunes of War:
glosses: To influence someone to express something, especially a particular stance or viewpoint or in a particular manner.
raw_tags: used in progressive tenses
Synonyms: word: chat
word: communicate
word: dictate
word: klatch
word: let on
word: make known
word: orate
word: say
word: speak
word: speechify
word: tell
word: write up
Hyponyms: word: DM
word: accuse
word: alert
word: argue
word: comment
word: expose
word: inform
word: leak
word: lecture
word: message
word: negotiate
word: question
word: report
word: reveal
word: shout
word: snitch
word: squawk
word: tattle
word: temporize
word: uncover
word: yell
Coordinate terms: listen
Derived terms: all talk and trousers
bad-talk
betalk
crazy talk
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's leg off
talk someone under the table
talk the ears off a donkey
talk the ears off someone
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
Related terms: word: talkative
word: utter
word: verbose