SPEAK
What does "SPEAK" mean?
To say words aloud; to use the voice to express thoughts in language.
Meanings
- To utter words; to talk. She was too nervous to speak in front of the class.
- To be able to use or converse in a particular language. He speaks three languages fluently.
- To express or convey something without literal words. The empty chair at the table spoke louder than any speech. figurative
- To make a formal address or give a speech. The author will speak at the festival on Saturday.
Did you know?
- English used to put an 'r' in 'speak': the Old English verb was 'sprecan', and you can still hear that lost consonant in modern German 'sprechen' and in the English word 'speech'.
Word origin
From Old English 'specan', an alteration of earlier 'sprecan' (to speak), related to German 'sprechen'; English quietly dropped the 'r' over centuries.
Remember it
SPEAK ends in 'EAK', the sound a rusty hinge makes when it finally opens to let words out.
A little poem
Before the word there is the held breath,
the long deciding whether to say-
to speak is to step off the edge of silence.
tercet
Wordplay
- I told the polyglot to speak his mind, and he asked which of his five languages I'd prefer it in.
What it teaches
Silence is safe and cheap; to speak is to put a piece of yourself where it can be answered.
Quick facts
What does SPEAK mean?
To say words aloud; to use the voice to express thoughts in language.
Is SPEAK a valid word?
Yes — SPEAK is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is SPEAK?
SPEAK has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does SPEAK come from?
From Old English 'specan', an alteration of earlier 'sprecan' (to speak), related to German 'sprechen'; English quietly dropped the 'r' over centuries.
What can SPEAK teach us?
Silence is safe and cheap; to speak is to put a piece of yourself where it can be answered.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.