speak
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /spiːk/
enpr: spēk
ipa: /spik/
rhymes: -iːk
Forms: form: speaks
form: speaking
form: spoke
form: spake
form: spoke
form: no-table-tags
form: glossary
form: speak
form: speak
form: spoke
form: speak
form: speakest
form: spoke
form: spokest
form: speaks
form: speaketh
form: spoke
form: speak
form: spoke
form: speak
form: spoke
form: speak
form: -
form: speaking
form: spoken
form: speake
form: speke
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.
Cognates
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.
Senses: examples: text: 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.
ref: 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 203:
text: I was so surprised I couldn't speak.
text: You're speaking too fast.
glosses: To communicate with one's voice, to say words out loud.
examples: text: It's been ages since we've spoken.
glosses: To have a conversation.
examples: text: He spoke of it in his diary.
text: Speak to me only with your eyes.
text: Actions speak louder than words.
text: 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.”
ref: 1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC, page 4:
text: The deed will speak the truth
In language strict and pure.
I stop the lying mouth:
Rage warps my clearest cry
To witless agony.
ref: 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:
glosses: To communicate or converse by some means other than orally, such as writing or facial expressions.
examples: text: This evening I shall speak on the topic of correct English usage.
glosses: To deliver a message to a group; to deliver a speech.
examples: text: He speaks Mandarin fluently.
glosses: To be able to communicate in a language.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 1998, Nigel G Fielding, Raymond M Lee, Computer Analysis and Qualitative Research, page 4:
glosses: To be able to communicate in a language.
To be able to communicate in the manner of specialists in a field.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 9:5:
text: I was so surprised that I couldn't speak a word.
glosses: To utter.
examples: text: Their behaviour to each other speaks the most cordial confidence and happiness.
ref: 1785, Frances Burney, Diary and letters of Madame d'Arblay, author of Evelina, Cecilia, &c., link:
text: There he sat, his very indifference speaking a nature in which there lurked no civilized hypocrisies and bland deceits.
ref: 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:
glosses: To communicate (some fact or feeling); to bespeak, to indicate.
examples: text: Sorry, I don't speak idiot.
text: So you can program in C. But do you speak C++?
glosses: To understand (as though it were a language).
examples: text: Make all our trumpets speak.
ref: 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:
glosses: To produce a sound; to sound.
examples: text: Miles tremblingly confessed that it had, but to no purpose; a parrot being able to speak better in three weeks than a brazen head.
ref: 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 220:
glosses: Of a bird, to be able to vocally reproduce words or phrases from a human language.
examples: text: [He will] thee in hope; he will speak thee fair.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ecclesiasticus 13:6:
text: Each village senior paused to scan / And speak the lovely caravan.
ref: 1847, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Threnody”, in Poems, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, →OCLC, page 239:
text: 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; [...]
ref: 1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Economy”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC:
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.
ref: 2013, George Francis Dow, Slave Ships and Slaving (quoting an older text)
glosses: To address; to accost; to speak to.
Synonyms: word: articulate
word: talk
word: verbalize
word: babble
word: blab
word: chat
word: chatter
word: converse
word: discuss
word: jabber
word: open one's mouth
word: quethe
word: say
word: speak
word: yak
word: yap
word: yammer
Hypernyms: word: communicate
Hyponyms: word: blather
word: bloviate
word: blurt
word: declare
word: drawl
word: drone
word: expound
word: gab
word: gabble
word: gasp
word: mention
word: orate
word: parp
word: pontificate
word: prattle
word: rabbit
word: ramble
word: rant
word: rave
word: roll
word: schmooze
word: speech
word: speechify
word: sputter
word: stammer
word: thunder
word: witter
Coordinate terms: sign
Derived terms: word: bespeak
word: forespeak
word: forspeak
word: forthspeak
word: misspeak
word: outspeak
word: overspeak
word: public speaking
word: speakable
word: speaker
word: speakeasy
word: speakworthy
word: re-speak
word: unspeak
word: unspeakable
word: upspeak
word: withspeak
word: speak down
word: speak for
word: speak out
word: speak to
word: speak up
word: actions speak louder than words
word: as she is spoke
word: on speaking terms
word: so to speak
word: speak as one finds
word: speak for oneself
word: speak highly of
word: speak ill of
word: speak in circles
word: speak in tongues
word: speak of the devil
word: speak one's mind
word: speak softly and carry a big stick
word: speak someone's language
word: speak volumes
word: speak with one voice
word: spoken for
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: as we speak
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: broadly speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: bullspeak
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: can I speak to the manager haircut
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: climate-speak
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: does anyone here speak English
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: dollar-speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: do you speak English
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: even as we speak
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: evil-speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: facts speak louder than words
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: free-speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: generally speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: give someone a speaking to
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: home-speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: how many languages do you speak
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: I don't speak English
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: in a manner of speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: in a way of speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: I want to speak to the manager haircut
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: like speaking to a brick wall
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: like speaking to a wall
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: native-speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: not to speak of
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: on speaking terms
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: oul-spoken
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: plain-speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: plain-spoken
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: please speak more slowly
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: public speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: roughly speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: short-spoken
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: smooth-spoken
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak by the card
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak down to
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak highly
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak in dollars
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speaking in tongues
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speaking of
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speaking terms
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speaking trumpet
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speaking tube
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speaking voice
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speaking with tongues
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak in terms
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak like a book
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak now or forever hold your peace
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak of
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak of the devil and he appears
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak of the devil and he shall appear
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak one's conscience
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak out of turn
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak too soon
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak truth to power
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: speak with a forked tongue
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: spoken for
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: spoken pause
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: spoken word
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: strictly speaking
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: to speak of
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: well-spoken
sense: others (may need to be in above sections, i.e. this is an unsorted dump of Derived terms)
word: what languages do you speak
Related terms: word: speech
word: utter