/spiːk/, /spik/
OriginFrom 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.
- intransitiveTo communicate with one's voice, to say words out loud.
“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 t”
“I was so surprised I couldn't speak.”
“You're speaking too fast.”
- intransitive, reciprocalTo have a conversation.
“It's been ages since we've spoken.”
- broadlyTo 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.”
- intransitiveTo deliver a message to a group; to deliver a speech.
“This evening I shall speak on the topic of correct English usage.”
- stative, transitiveTo be able to communicate in a language.
“He speaks Mandarin fluently.”
- broadly, stative, transitiveTo be able to communicate in the manner of specialists in a field.
“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.”
- transitiveTo utter.
“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.”
- transitiveTo communicate (some fact or feeling); to bespeak, to indicate.
“Their behaviour to each other speaks the most cordial confidence and happiness.”
“There he sat, his very indifference speaking a nature in which there lurked no civilized hypocrisies and bland deceits.”
- humorous, informal, sometimes, transitiveTo understand (as though it were a language).
“Sorry, I don't speak idiot.”
“So you can program in C. But do you speak C++?”
- intransitiveTo produce a sound; to sound.
“Make all our trumpets speak.”
- Of a bird, to be able to vocally reproduce words or phrases from a human language.
“Miles tremblingly confessed that it had, but to no purpose; a parrot being able to speak better in three weeks than a brazen head.”
- archaic, transitiveTo address; to accost; to speak to.
“[He will] thee in hope; he will speak thee fair.”
“Each village senior paused to scan / And speak the lovely caravan.”
“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”
- uncountableLanguage, jargon, or terminology used uniquely in a particular environment or group.
“corporate speak; IT speak”
“We'll go into more depth with all the specs shortly so anyone less well versed in espresso speak will understand what I'm harping on about, but firstly let's just talk about using the machine.”
- countableSpeech, conversation.
- abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, informalClipping of speaker point.
“We will deduct speaks for hesitation.”
- dateda low class bar, a speakeasy.
Formsspeaks(present, singular, third-person) · speaking(participle, present) · spoke(past) · spake(archaic, past) · spoke(colloquial, nonstandard, participle, past) · speak(infinitive) · speak(first-person, present, singular) · spoke(first-person, past, singular) · speak(present, second-person, singular) · speakest(archaic, present, second-person, singular) · spoke(past, second-person, singular) · spokest(archaic, past, second-person, singular) · speaketh(archaic, present, singular, third-person) · spoke(past, singular, third-person) · speak(plural, present) · spoke(past, plural) · speak(present, subjunctive) · spoke(past, subjunctive) · speak(imperative, present) · -(imperative, past)