SPOKE
What does "SPOKE" mean?
One of the bars connecting the hub of a wheel to its rim.
Meanings
- A rod or bar radiating from the centre of a wheel to its outer rim. A loose spoke made the bicycle wheel wobble.
- A radiating element of a hub-and-spoke arrangement, as in a route network. The airline funnels flights through one hub and many spokes. figurative
- Past tense of 'speak'. She spoke quietly so the baby would not wake.
Did you know?
- 'Spoke' is two unrelated words wearing one spelling: the wheel rod from Old English 'spaca', and the past tense of 'speak' - they only look like twins.
Word origin
The wheel sense comes from Old English 'spaca' (rod, spoke); the verb sense is the past tense of 'speak', from Old English 'specan' / 'sprecan'. The two are unrelated homographs.
Remember it
SPOKE: a wheel SPOKE and the past of 'speak' share one word - remember both turn around a hub, one of metal, one of conversation.
A little poem
The wheel held true on every spoke but one-
and the one she spoke of was the broken one.
couplet
Wordplay
- Why is the wheel such a great conversationalist? Every part of it has already spoke.
What it teaches
A wheel rolls because the load is shared across every spoke; no single bar carries the journey alone.
Quick facts
What does SPOKE mean?
One of the bars connecting the hub of a wheel to its rim.
Is SPOKE a valid word?
Yes — SPOKE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is SPOKE?
SPOKE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does SPOKE come from?
The wheel sense comes from Old English 'spaca' (rod, spoke); the verb sense is the past tense of 'speak', from Old English 'specan' / 'sprecan'. The two are unrelated homographs.
What can SPOKE teach us?
A wheel rolls because the load is shared across every spoke; no single bar carries the journey alone.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.