speak

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.

verb

1. (intransitive) To communicate with one's voice, to say words out loud.
   I was so surprised I couldn't speak.
   You're speaking too fast.
2. (intransitive, reciprocal) To have a conversation.
   It's been ages since we've spoken.
3. (by extension) To 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.
4. (intransitive) To deliver a message to a group; to deliver a speech.
   This evening I shall speak on the topic of correct English usage.
5. (transitive, stative) To be able to communicate in a language.
   He speaks Mandarin fluently.
   1. (by extension) To 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. 1998, Nigel G Fielding, Raymond M Lee, Computer Analysis and Qualitative Research, page 4
6. (transitive) To utter.
   I was so surprised that I couldn't speak a word.
7. (transitive) To communicate (some fact or feeling); to bespeak, to indicate.
   Their behaviour to each other speaks the most cordial confidence and happiness. 1785, Frances Burney, Diary and letters of Madame d'Arblay, author of Evelina, Cecilia, &c., link
8. (informal, transitive, sometimes humorous) To understand (as though it were a language).
   Sorry, I don't speak idiot.
   So you can program in C. But do you speak C++?
9. (intransitive) To produce a sound; to sound.
10. 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. 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 220
11. (transitive, archaic) To address; to accost; to speak to.
    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. 2013, George Francis Dow, Slave Ships and Slaving (quoting an older text)

noun

1. language, jargon, or terminology used uniquely in a particular environment or group.
   Corporate speak; IT speak.
2. Speech, conversation.

noun

1. (dated) a low class bar, a speakeasy.