| 释义 |
▪ I. speak, n. Chiefly Sc. and north.|spiːk|
Forms: 3–5 speke (4 spece), 4–5 spek, 5 Sc. speike (9 speik), 6–7 speake, 8– speak.
[Partly the northern form of ME. spēche (OE. spǽc, sprǽc) speech n.1; partly, in later use, f. speak v.
In Laȝamon 1971, Owl & N. 13, and Rob. Glouc. 8535, 8643, the forms speke and spek have obviously been miswritten for spech(e through being mistaken for parts of the verb.]
†1.
a. The action of speaking; also, manner of speaking. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 13260 He sermund wit his loueli spek. c1300Havelok 946 Of alle men was he mest meke, Lauhwinde ay, and bliþe of speke. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 393 In spek wlispyt he sum deill. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxvii. (Machor) 1164 With þis of spek he mad ending. c1450Holland Howlat 242 All apperit to the Pape,..Salust his sanctitud with spirituale speike.
†b. The power or faculty of speech. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 24320 Als ded þai war, wit-vten speke. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints Prol. 122 As to deff men gyfand herynge,..and spek till oþer at war dum.
†c. A language. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 2267 Þar war al þe speces delt Þat now ouer-alle þe werld er melt.
2. a. Talk, discourse, conversation.
a1300Cursor M. 2618 Wit hir sli spece gun he spell. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paul) 301 With wismen þare-of [Nero] had spek. 1886Willock Rosetty Ends xii. (1887) 88 The affair caused a hantle o' speak.
b. With a, the, this, etc., or possessive pronouns.
a1300Cursor M. 12197 Ihesus þan folud on his speke, And þus began his resun eke. c1300Havelok 1065 Þoruth England yede þe speke [MS. speche], Hw he was strong, and ek meke. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 72 Thai all concordyt, That all thar spek suld be recordyt Till Schyr Eduuard. a1400–50Alexander 3318 With þis speke at he spake þe sprete he ȝeldis. a1779D. Graham Writ. (1883) II. 209, I maun hae..a quiet speak to hersel about it. 1790Shirrefs Poems 247 Only foes to common sense Frae sic a speak can tak' offence. 1819W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 5 Notin' down within thy book Ilk motion, gesture, speik, and look. 1883–in dial. glossaries, etc. (Yks., Westmld., Linc., Berks.).
†c. a great speak, an important statement. Obs.
1587Golding De Mornay xxiv. (1596) 366 They thinke themselues to haue made a greate speake, and hard to be resolued.
3. A formal discourse; a speech.
1567Drant Horace, Ep., Arte Poet. A vij, A solemne speake, mete for great things. 1576G. Pettie Petite Pallace 89 b, Before hym Aristotle..maketh a great speake, saying [etc.]. 1600O.E. Repl. to Libel i. i. 9 Nor doth he applie his common place to his purpose, but leaueth it..without any coherence to the rest of his long speake. 1610R. Davies in Chester's Triumph (Chetham Soc.) C 3 b, Is it not harsh to heare a Marmeset squeake Vpon a stage a most vnioynted speake? 1791J. Learmont Poems 30 Their unco speaks o' sax hours lang.
4. Cant. (See quot.) Obs.—0
1811Lexicon Balatronicum s.v. Speak, He has made a good speak; he has stolen something considerable. 1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Speak, committing any robbery, is called making a speak; and if it has been productive you are said to have made a rum speak.
5. = speakeasy. slang
1930Bookman (U.S.) LXXII. 398/1 Better grade speaks in Times Square are dispensing with femme shills and hangers-out. 1952[see open a. 2 c]. 1977H. Fast Immigrants iv. 242 We're just lucky it happened in a speak, because maybe no one will bring any charges.
▪ II. speak, v.|spiːk|
Forms: (see below).
[OE. sprecan (pa. tense spræc, sprǽcon, pa. pple. ᵹesprecen), = OFris. spreka (WFris. sprekke, NFris. spreek, spreeg), MDu. (and Du.) spreken, OS. sprekan (MLG. and LG. spreken), OHG. sprehhan (MHG. and G. sprechen); not recorded in Gothic, and absent in older Scand., the obs. Da. sprecke, sprække, Icel. spreka, being adoptions from LG.
The later OE. specan became common in the 11th cent., and forms with r app. did not survive in actual use beyond the middle of the 12th cent. A similar elision of the r appears very rarely in MDu. speken, OHG. spehhan.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
1. inf. (α) 1 sprecan, spreocan, spræcan; north. spreca, spræca, -spreaca; sprecca, spræcca; 2 sprecon.
c825Vesp. Hymns iv, Nyllað ᵹemoniᵹfaldian spreocan. c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. 89 [Hie] ne durron..sprecan. a900in O.E. Texts 178 Hu meahte ic..her spræcan? c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. x. 19 Huætt ᵹe spreca scilo. Ibid. 20 Huæt ᵹie sprecca scilon. c1075O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 1070, Umbe þæt hi sprecan woldon. a1122Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1114, He wolde sprecon mid him.
(β) 1 specan (2 -on), 1–2 specen, 2–5 speken (3 Orm. spekenn), 5 spekyn; 1–2 spæcon, 2 -en, 3 spæ(c)ken; 2–3 speoken.
c1000in Assmann Ags. Hom. xviii. 55 Hy..wið hi specan woldon. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xii. 46 Secende spæcon [c 1160 Hatton spæcen] to him. c1120O.E. Chron. (MS. H) an. 1113, Swa þæt hiᵹ uneaðe specon mihton. c1175Lamb. Hom. 35 Ȝif he mihte speken. Ibid. 89 Heo..on⁓gunnen to speoken. c1205Lay. 14758 He wold spæcken heom wið. c1250Gen. & Ex. 3400 Ðo cam ietro..To speken him. a1425Cursor M. 20025 (Trin.), I bigon hir worshepe speken. c1440Promp. Parv. 468/1 Spekyn, loquor.
(γ) 3–6 speke, 4–6 spek, 4 spec, speck, 5 speike, 6–7 speake, 6–8 Sc. speik, 6– speak (Ir. 8–9 spake).
a1250Owl & Night. 261 Let me speke. a1300Cursor M. 24795 (Edinb.), For to spek about sum pais. 13..Ibid. 19176 (Gött.), Quilis þai suld samen speck. c1400Destr. Troy 4976 By course for to speike. 1483Cath. Angl. 353/1 To Speke,..loqui. 1535Coverdale Isaiah lxvi. 19 The Iles..that haue not herde speake of me. 1586Ld. Burghley in Leycester Corr. (Camden) 450 Some spek of namyng the count Morrice. 1609Skene Reg. Maj. 95 Na man sall speik. a1700in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. IX. 362 She could not speake french. 1762Foote Orator ii, By my shoul but I will spake.
2. pres. tense sing. (Early contracted forms.)
a. 2nd pers. (α) 1 sprycst, 1–2 sprecst, 2 spræcst. (β) 1 spycst, 2 spæcst, 3 spekst, 3–4 spext.
α971Blickl. Hom. 183 Forhwon ne sprecst þu? c1000Ags. Gosp. John iv. 27 Hwæt sprycst [c 1160 Hatton sprecst] þu wið hiᵹ? c1160Hatton Gosp. John xix. 10 Hwi ne spræcst þu wið me.
βc1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 10 For hwiᵹ spycst [c 1160 Hatton spæcst] þu..mid biᵹ-spellum? a1272in O.E. Misc. 98 Hwat spekstu of eny stone. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 128 Þov spext ase a fol. c1320in Rel. Antiq. I. 265 Ȝef thou with dede mon spext.
b. 3rd pers. (α) 1 sprycð, 1–2 spricð, sprecð, 2 spræcð. (β) 1 spycð, spycþ, 2–4 specþ, specð (2 specd), 3 spechð, 3–4 spekþ, 4 spekth.
αc897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. 380 Ðæs monnes saul þe wel spricð. 971Blickl. Hom. 55 Se þa soþfæstnesse..sprecþ. c1000Ags. Gosp. John vii. 18 Se þe be him sylium sprycð [c 1160 Hatton spræcð].
βc1000Ags. Gosp. John vii. 26 Nu he spycþ openlice. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 51 Dauid specð..sume of þe wordes. a1250Owl & Night. 1072 Wel viht þat wel spekþ. 1340Ayenb. 126 Huanne he specþ of þise..uirtues. 1390Gower Conf. I. 366 Solyns spekth of a wonder kinde.
3. pa. tense.
a. sing. (α) 1 sprec, 1–2 spræc (1 spræcc), 2 spreac.
c825Vesp. Psalter xcviii. 7 In syle wolcnes [he] sprec to him. a900in O.E. Texts 178 He spræc to his liornæra sumum. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Luke ix. 11 [He] spræcc him of ric godes. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1083, Þe abbot..spræc uppon þa munecas. 1131Ibid. an. 1131, Se abbot..spreac mid þone kyng.
(β) 1–3 spæc, 2–4 spec, spek, 4–5 speck.
a1000Psalm l. 30 Dauid..ðus wordum spæc. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1046, Sweᵹen..spec wið his feder. c1175Lamb. Hom. 73 Of ileue spek ure drihten. c1205Lay. 12655 He..of gode spæc swide wel. a1225Leg. Kath. 308 Hwil þet ha spek þus. c1307Elegy Death Edw. I, vi, The pope..spec a word of gret honour. 13..K. Horn 600 An hound.. spek wordes bolde.
(γ) 2–5 spac (3 Orm. spacc), 4–5, Sc. and dial. 7– spack, 5 spacke, spakke, 3–5, Sc. and north. 6– spak, 9 Sc. spak'.
a1154O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1140, Þe biscop..spac wid Rodbert. c1200Ormin 224 Spacc he nohht wiþþ tunge. a1250Owl & Night. 396 Ho spak boþe right & red. a1300Cursor M. 12005 Sum him..spack o prise. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 312 Many þinges þat God spac not. c1400Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) i. xvi. 14 These wordys whiche..the juge..spack. 1470–85Malory Arthur i. xxi. 68 Thenne spak Igrayne. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 84 Than spak that Virgin fre. c1614Sir W. Mure Dido & æneas i. 467 Ne'er word she spak. 1786Burns Holy Fair iv, Laughan as she spak.
(δ) 3 spæke, 3–5 speke, 4 speeke, 5 speek.
Properly representing the OE. forms sprǽce, spǽce.
c1200Ormin 16260 Þeȝȝ wenndenn þatt he spæke..off þeȝȝre temmple. c1275Lay. 14316 Þe speche þat þe maide speke. c1320Cast. Love 458 Pees..þus to hire Fader speek. 1382Wyclif Job ii. 10 As oon of the fool wymmen thou speeke. c1420Sir Amadace (Camden) lx, Thenne speke Sir Amadace so fre.
(ε) 3– (now arch., dial., or poet.) spake, 4–5 spaak. Also 2nd pers. 5 spakist, 6– spakest, 6 spakst, 7 poet. spak'st.
a1300K. Horn 535 Do nu þat þu er of spake. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 265 He spaak þes wordis. 1388― 1 Sam. xxviii. 21 Thi wordis, whiche thou spakist. 1461Paston Lett. II. 14, I..spake Ric. Sothwell. 1509Fisher Wks. (1876) 103 That thou spake them to hym. 1667Milton P.L. viii. 444, I, ere thou spak'st, Knew [etc.]. 1781Cowper Conversation 511 They spake of him they lov'd. 1827[see B. 1 f]. 1848Bartlett Dict. Amer. 321 Spake..is still heard occasionally from the pulpit, as well as in conversation. 1872Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 472 Lancelot ever spake him pleasantly.
(ζ) 6– spoke, 7, 9 dial. spok, 7 spoak(e, spook, 8–9 dial. spock. Also 2nd pers. 9 spokest.
1596Spenser F.Q. vi. xii. 25 He..blasphemy spoke. 1615Cocks Diary (Hakl. Soc.) I. 18 She spoake Spanish. 1617Ibid. 260 He spok to the Chinas. 1697J. Lewis Mem. Dk. Glocester (1789) 50 A sweetness..that spoke the inner feelings. 1773Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. iii, He spoke to me. 1802Med. Jrnl. VIII. 194 With whom I spoke here lately. 1848Lytton Harold i. iii. 41 Thou spokest of Harold.
b. pl. (α) 1 sprecun, -on (-an), 1–2 spræcon (1 -un, -an, 2 -en).
c825Vesp. Psalter cxviii. 23 Aldermen..wið me sprecun. c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. 95 Eall ðæt ðæt we ær spræcon. 971Blickl. Hom. 77 Hie..to Criste spræcan. Ibid. 99 Þa þe..him olyhtword sprecan. c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke xxiv. 36 Þa hiᵹ þis spræcon [c 1160 Hatton spræcen]. 1123O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1123, Ða spræcon ða biscopas hem betwenan.
(β) 1–2 spæcon, 2 spæcen, 2–3 spæken (3 Orm. -enn); 2 specon, 2–5 speken (5 spekon, -yn), 3–5 speke, 4 spek; 4 speeken, spieken, speeke, spieke.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke xxiv. 14 And hiᵹ spæcon him be⁓twynan. c1160Hatton Gosp. Luke ix. 30 Ða spæken [v.r. spæcen] tweᵹen weres wið hine. c1175Lamb. Hom. 89 Þe apostles speken to þes folkes igederunge. c1205Lay. 8249 Þus þe cnihtes him spæken [c 1275 speke] wið. c1305St. Dunstan 9 in E.E.P. (1862) 34 Hi speke ech to oþer. a1325Prose Psalter xxxvii. 13 Hij..speken uanites. 1382Wyclif Ps. cxviii. 23 Aȝen me thei speeken. 1390Gower Conf. I. 235 Therof spieken alle men. Ibid. III. 300 Togedre as thei tuo speeke. c1450Merlin 25 The peple..assembleden, and speken of Vortiger. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn 71 The most valiaunt knyght that men euere speke of.
(γ) 4–5 spaken, 4–5, 7 spake, 4 space, spac, 4, 6 Sc. spack, 4, 9 dial. spak.
a1300E.E. Psalter lxxii. 8 Þai..spake quedenes vn⁓righte. a1325Prose Psalter cviii. 2 Hij spaken to me. a1425Cursor M. 11990 (Trin.), Þei spake to Ioseph. c1449Pecock Repr. ii. x. 206 Whom prophetis bifore spaken Sauiour. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 284 Tha spack verie scharpe. 1621Cocks Diary 11 Nov. (1883) II. 218 Those 10 men they spake of.
(δ) 3–5 spoken, 4 spokyn; 4, 6– spoke, 5 spook.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 2913 Quanne he ðat bodewurd spoken. a1325Prose Psalter cxviii. 23 For princes..spoken oȝains me. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. ii. 225 Spiceres spoke with hym. 1470–85Malory Arthur xvii. viii. 700 As they spoken thus. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iv. iv. 17 That [way] they spoke of.
4. pa. pple. (α) 1 ᵹesprecen, ᵹespecen, 3 i-specken, i-speken, i-spæ(c)ken; 1 sprecen, 2 sprecon; 3–5 speken, 7 speaken, 6 spaken.
Beowulf 643 Þa wæs eft..þryðword sprecen. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xviii. §1 Ða ðis þa ᵹesprecen was. c1050Ags. Hom. (Assmann) 183 Ða þa Tyrus hæfde þus ᵹespecen. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 675, Swa swa ᵹe hit sprecon hauen. c1200Moral Ode 9 (Trin. Coll. MS.), Fele idel word ich habbe ispeken. c1205Lay. 13643 Ich habbe..ispæken him wið. c1300Havelok 2369 Þat ich haue of ofte speken. c1590in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. III. 159, I have spaken to Dollyne. 1670Dk. York in 3rd Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 421/1 Nor will it be speaken on..till next weeke.
(β) 3–4 i-speke, y-speke, 4–5 speke, 4 spek.
a1250Owl & Night. 1293 For þe hule swo ispeke hadde. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 228 Þare nas neuere..yspeke..non oþur word. 1340Ayenb. 69 Uor þet hi habbeþ yspeke. c1350Will. Palerne 4605 Til i speke haue.
(γ) 4–5 y-, i-spoken, i-spokyn; 4– spoken (5 -ene, -un), 4–5, Sc. 6 spokin (5 Sc. -ine), 4–6 spokyn, 5 spockyn, 6 Sc., 9 dial. spocken (9 dial. spockin, spawken), 6 Sc. spokne, 7 spokn, spoaken.
a1300Cursor M. 1757 Quen he his wil had with him spoken. a1325Prose Psalter xi. 2 Ichon han i-spoken idel þynges. 1450–80tr. Secreta Secret. 13 Whan that this worthi lord hath þus..spokene. 1530Palsgr. 727/2 Whan they hadde spokyn..of the matter. 1583Leg. Bp. St. Androis 353 Trowing the teallis befoir was spocken. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 88 We haue schortlie spokne. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies ii. ix. 102 Not so great as they had spoken. 1817Wilbraham in Archaeol. (1821) XIX. 38 Spocken, participle of the verb to speak.
(δ) 4–5 y-spoke, 4 i-spoke; 4–9 spoke, 5, 7 spok, 7 spoak.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 123 He hadde proudeliche i-spoke. 1390Gower Conf. I. 60 As I have spoke. c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode i. xliv. (1869) 26 Whan Nature hadde þus yspoke. 1461Paston Lett. II. 42, I have spok with John Rwsse. 1557N. Grimalde in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 116 Not more..hath Sparta spoke. 1622Donne Serm. 15 Sept. 37 Neither is that spoak there. 1664Power Exp. Philos. i. 2 He would not have spoke so doubtfully. a1774Goldsm. tr. Scarron's Com. Romance (1775) I. 63 When she had spoke these last words. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. vii, Nothing was spoke of for some time. 1843S. R. Maitland Dark Ages xvi. (1890) 293 That I have..spoke the truth.
(ε) 6–7 spake, 9 Sc. spak'.
c1500Three Kings' Sons 61 That he had spake to hym. 1616W. Forde Serm. 17 He had no sooner spake the word. 1632Massinger & Field Fatal Dowry v. ii, Tho' spake by him That never brake his word. 1812P. Forbes Poems 34 (E.D.D.), Another chield that hadna spak'.
B. Signification.
I. intr.
1. a. To utter or pronounce words or articulate sounds; to use or exercise the faculty of speech; to express one's thoughts by words.
Beowulf 1698 Ða se wisa spræc sunu Healfdenes; swiᵹedon ealle. c888K. ælfred Boeth. iii. §3 Þa ongan he eft sprecan & cwæð to þan Mode. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xv. 31 Þa mæneᵹu wundredon ᵹeseonde dumbe specende, healte gangende. a1200St. Marher. 16 Swuch farlac ich fele..þet speoken i ne dar nawt. a1300Cursor M. 19415 Þe hali spirit vte of him spak. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 126 For defe..to here & dombe speke he made. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 209 He that hyryth the reysones of many men may lightyr well sayne, than he that erste spake. 1581G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 69 b, Not to speake, while an other is in speaking,..before he which speaketh be thorowly understood. 1610Shakes. Temp. ii. i. 65 If but one of his pockets could speake, would it not say he lyes? 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 182, I had taught my Poll, as I noted before, to speak. 1828Lytton Pelham III. xiv, He spoke with great feeling on the subject for which I was summoned. 1897Gladstone E. Crisis 6 It is time to speak with freedom.
transf.1611Bible Prov. vi. 13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feete.
b. Said of the mouth, tongue, etc.
c825Vesp. Psalter xvi. 10 Muð heara spreocende wes in oferhyᵹde. c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke vi. 45 Soðlice se muð spycð [c 1160 specð] swa seo heorte þencð. 1382Wyclif Ps. lxv. 14 My mouth spac in my tribulacioun. 1535Coverdale Matt. xii. 34 For of y⊇ abundance of y⊇ hert y⊇ mouth speaketh. 1560Bible (Geneva) Song Sol. vii. 9 Which..causeth the lippes of the ancient to speake. 1611Bible Isaiah xxxii. 4 The tongue of the stammerers shall bee readie to speake plainely. 1646Crashaw Steps to Temple Poems (1904) 74 Christ bids the dumb tongue speak; it speakes. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 95 When I have cut off thy head, will it speak?
c. To hold talk or discourse, to converse, with others or with each other. (Cf. 20.) Also, in mod. use, to be on speaking terms.
971Blickl. Hom. 93 Seo eorþe on þæm norþ-ende & on þam east-ende sprecað him betweonum. c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke vii. 32 Hi synt ᵹelice cildum on stræte sittendum & specendum betwux him. c1125O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1123, Se king..and se biscop..riden þær specende. c1200Ormin 3389 Þa hirdess tokenn sone þuss To spekenn hemm bitwenenn. 1375[see 3 a]. 1390Gower Conf. I. 208 Thus as they lihe abedde and spieke. 1582N. T. (Rhem.) Acts xxvi. 31 Going a side, they spake among them selues, saying [etc.]. 1607Shakes. Cor. i. iv. 4 They lye in view, but haue not spoke as yet. 1777C. Reeve Champion of Virtue 54 While they were speaking, Oswald came to them, and said [etc.]. 1819Shelley Cenci v. i. 64 Even whilst we speak The ministers of justice wait below. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey ii. ii, There is Courtown, but we do not speak. 1865H. Kingsley Hillyars III. xxiii. 240 Even their husbands did not speak for a fortnight.
(b) spec. To speak to another by means of a telephone; ― speaking (where ― is a speaker on a telephone), phr. used by the speaker to announce his identity.
1885List of Subscribers (United Telephone Co.) p. xiv, ‘Who speaks?’ came distinctly from the wires into the office. ‘2577,’ was the reply—it was the hotel number. 1925F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby ix. 200 But the connection came through as a man's voice, very thin and far away. ‘This is Slagle speaking.’.. ‘Yes?’ The name was unfamiliar. 1933‘Sapper’ Knock-Out i. 9 Standish..took the receiver from the other's hand. ‘Hullo! Sanderson,’ he said. ‘Yes—Standish speaking. What now?’ 1973J. Wainwright Pride of Pigs 166 ‘Quince?’ said the voice. ‘Speaking.’ Quince hooked his fingers through the carrying handle of the Trimphone, telephone hand set... He said: ‘Who's that?.. Who's speaking?’ 1977L. Meynell Hooky gets Wooden Spoon xiii. 151 C.I.D. here..who is it speaking, please?
d. In various phrases and proverbs.
See also book n. 15 and card n.2 4 c.
a1250Owl & Night. 1074 ‘Wel fiȝt þat wel specþ,’ seide Alured. 1381in Knighton's Chron. (Rolls) II. 139 Speke, spende and spede, quoth Jon of Bathon. a1425Cursor M. 23849 (Trin.), Euer to speke & not to spede, Wastyng hit is of goddes sede. 14..[see spare v.1 6 c]. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. ii. i. 66 Mistake me not, I speake but as I finde. c1676South Serm. (1715) 341 He only now-a-days speaks like an Oracle, who speaks Tricks and Ambiguities. 1748Richardson Clarissa VI. 61 He always loved to speak as he found. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 482, I am speaking like a book.
e. With reflexive or ethical dative. rare.
c1400Anturs of Arth. l, Bot than hym spake Gallerone to Gawayne þe gude. 1703Rowe Ulyss. i. i. 366 This Wife of him that was my Friend? Eur. Thou speak'st me well, of him that was thy Friend. 1839–48Bailey Festus 60/1 Thou speakest me of visions.
f. To deliver a speech or formal address; to express one's opinions or views in an assembly of any kind.
a1577Sir T. Smith Commw. ii. ii. (1584) 40 The speaker hath no voice in the house, nor they will not suffer him to speake in any bill to mooue or disswade it. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. iii. ii. 89 Heere, vnder leaue of Brutus, and the rest,..Come I to speake in Cæsars Funerall. 1689Sc. Acts Parlt. (1875) XII. 59/2 That the members be allowed to speak oftner than twyce if it be done with discreatione. 1738tr. Guazzo's Art Convers. 115 Marius, being to speak before the People of Rome, said [etc.]. 1827Southey Hist. Penins. War II. 574 Lord Grenville spake in a similar temper. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 18 The Commons were summoned to the bar of the Lords; and the King spoke from the throne. His speech had been composed by himself.
g. spec. To propose marriage. Cf. sense 14 d.
1604Shakes. Oth. i. iii. 166 She thank'd me, And bad me, if I had a Friend that lou'd her, I should but teach him how to tell my Story, And that would wooe her. Vpon this hint I spake. 1803G. Colman John Bull iii. i. 31 Lady Caroline. Lard, Mr. Shuffleton!.. You never spoke anything to—that is—to justify such a—. Shuffleton. (Aside.) That's as much as to say, speak now. 1858Trollope Dr. Thorne ii. vi. 81, I think you may speak now, Frank... She is very fond of you. 1904H. James Golden Bowl I. i. xii. 213 He liked..to feel that he should be able to ‘speak’..the word itself being romantic. 1932S. Gibbons Cold Comfort Farm xiv. 195 Flora did not dare to imagine what would happen if they returned from the ball and he had not spoken. He must speak! 1964M. Laski in S. Nowell-Smith Edwardian England iv. 198 An interval might have been found—perhaps in the conservatory, perhaps on a sofa in a dark nook under the stairs— when he had spoken and she accepted.
2. a. Followed by direct quotation of the words uttered.
More commonly with insertion of ‘and said’.
Beowulf 1168 Spræc ða ides Scyldinga: ‘Onfoh þissum fulle.’ c1000Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) lxiii. 4 Hi..sare sprecað, ‘Hwa ᵹesyhð usic?’ a1325Prose Psalter xxxviii. 5 Ich spak wyþ my tunge, ‘Make, Lord, knowen to me myn endyng’. 1375in Horstmann Altengl. Leg. (1878) 127/1 Adam þo spak ful pitously: ‘A, deuel, wo þe be!’ 1500–20Dunbar Poems (S.T.S.) xxxiv. 14 Than spak the Devill.., ‘Renunce thy God and cum to me’. 1588A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 30 For thou hes spoken..‘the bread quhilk I sal giue is my fleshe’. 1667Milton P.L. vii. 339 Again th' Almightie spake: Let there be Lights [etc.]. 1781Cowper Hope 524 Well spake the prophet, Let the desert sing. 1825Scott Betrothed vi, He spoke again, and in anxious haste, ‘Daughter, we are betrayed!’ 1859Tennyson Marr. Geraint 555 Loudly spake the Prince, ‘Forbear: there is a worthier’.
b. In pa. tense used in narrative poetry (after L. dixit) at the end of a speech. Cf. say v.1 B. 3 e.
1667Milton P.L. i. 663 He spake: and to confirm his words [etc.]. 1697Dryden æneid v. 218 He spoke, and..at his stern he saw [etc.]. 1716Pope Iliad v. 351 He spoke, and rising hurl'd his forceful dart. 1757Gray Bard 143 He spoke, and headlong..plunged to endless night. 1820Shelley Hymn Merc. lxix, He spoke, and bound Stiff withy bands the infant's wrists around.
3. a. With advs. and advb. phrases, as so, thus, etc. (See also 4 a.)
Speak may also be accompanied by many different adverbs denoting either the tone of voice, the temper or intention of the speaker, or the character of the ideas expressed. For some special instances of these see evil adv. 1, fair adv. 2, false adv. 1, home adv. 5, low adv. 3, plain adv. 2 and 3, soft adv. 4, thick adv. 4, well adv.
971Blickl. Hom. 227 Þa he þa þus spræc, ða ᵹeseah he [etc.]. a1225Leg. Kath. 312 He..feng on þus to speokene. c1250Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 27 Herodes..swo spac te þo þrie kinges. 1375Barbour Bruce xix. 613 Thusgatis spekand, thai held thar way. 1557Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 216 If guile do guide your wit by silence so to speake. 1611Bible 1 Sam. xviii. 24 On this manner spake Dauid. 1667Milton P.L. i. 271 So Satan spake, and him Beelzebub Thus answer'd. 1748Smollett Rod. Rand. lvi, While I spoke thus, she concealed her face with her fan. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxviii, Speak not so, my dear father. 1845S. Judd Margaret i. xiv, I have heard Hash speak so.
b. With advs. of quantity, as less, little, more, much.
With these words it is often difficult to distinguish between the intr. and trans. uses of the verb.
a1300Cursor M. 19115 Þe apostels spekand þus and mar, þe preistes come. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 77 Was noiþer more no lesse of þer penance spoken. 1388Wyclif 2 Sam. xix. 29 What spekist thou more? c1400Brut cxiii. 114 When þe Kyng herde speke so miche of here beaute. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 270 Mair the King spak nocht. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 112, I haue for barbarisme spoke more. 1702Eng. Theophrastus 335 It is the character of your half witted fellows to speak much and say little. 1805Scott Last Minstr. ii. xxxii, Little he ate, and less he spoke. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xxxiv, Perhaps rather disappointed that the port wine had not made Jim speak more.
c. With advs. denoting continuation, as away, on.
1535Coverdale Ecclus. xxvii. 12 Amonge soch as be wyse, speake on hardely. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 43 Speake on, but be not ouer-tedious. 1725Ramsay Gentle Sheph. Song xvii, Speak on,..and still my grief. 1781C. Johnston Hist. J. Juniper II. 164 If stages were built for them to speak away upon. a1814Fam. Politics v. iii. in New Brit. Theat. II. 248 Speak away, girl: we shall halt here some time yet. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay i, He wanted her to speak on.
d. With advs. having reference to the use of a particular language or style of speech.
1823Scott Quentin D. xvi, ‘Thou speakest too well for one who hath lived always in thy filthy horde,’ said the Scot. 1846Landor Imag. Conv., Southey & Landor Wks. 1853 II. 164/1 Varlunga, a pastoral district, in which the people speak differently from both.
4. In various parenthetical and other phrases:
a. In the infinitive, esp. so to speak.
(a)1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 205 All goodnesse (to speake at a worde) goeth awaie. 1595Shakes. John ii. i. 514 Or if you will, to speake more properly, I will enforce it easlie. 1628Gaule Pract. The. (1629) 232 Before Herod (to speake in few) they put vpon him a Fooles Note. 1671H. M. tr. Erasm. Colloq. 494 There was no year, wherein he did not gain a thousand duckats, to speak with the least. 1821Scott Kenilw. vii, It would cost me nothing..to say yes—but, to speak on the square, I must needs say no. 1886C. E. Pascoe Lond. of To-day xl. (ed. 3) 349 To speak by the book, ‘Mr. Gunter, cook, confectioner, and fruiterer’.
(b)1824Longfellow Let. 2 Mar. in S. Longfellow Life H. W. Longfellow (1886) I. iii. 37 If this were not another building, I should have imagined I occupied the same chamber that you did in former times, for it seemed to be the very highest point of the dwelling, the very apogee, so to speak. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. iii. iii, Notables are, so to speak, organed out. 1888‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. v, Pearl..was the leading spirit of the pair, and led Maud by the nose, so to speak.
attrib. and as n.1874Gentl. Mag. July 126 In a so to speak unconscious manner. 1893R. Heath Eng. Peasant 248 This statement of his..is not to be dismissed as a mere so-to-speak.
b. as they (etc.) speak, = as the phrase is.
1595in J. H. Pollen Acts Eng. Mart. (1892) vi. 101 Forthwith was found by the twelve billa vera, as they speak. 1665Phil. Trans. I. 80 By letting down shafts from the day (as Miners speak). 1695Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth i. (1723) 37 Many of them became petrified, as they speak. 1846Keble Serm. xiii. (1848) 335 The same saying fell accidentally (as men speak) on the eye of another rich young man.
c. In pres. pple. with advs., as broadly, correctly, generally, humanly, properly, roughly, strictly, etc. (Freq. in modern use.)
1699T. Brown Let. to Dr. Brown at Tunbridge Wks. 1711 IV. 129 Misfortunes..of which I can, humanly speaking, see no End. 1826Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 90 Generally speaking, I am an advocate for malt and hops only. 1855Orr's Circ. Sci., Inorg. Nat. 108 Strictly speaking also, there are no beds hitherto found lying above the chalk. 1865Ruskin Sesame ii. §74 Speaking broadly, a man ought to know any language or science he learns, thoroughly.
5. Of a writer, literary composition, etc.: To make a statement or declaration in words; to state or say.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 131 Seinte paul..speceð on þe halie pistle þe me ret to dei. c1205Lay. 70 Al swa þe boc spekeð þe he to bisne inom. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 4529 Þai sal be, als þe appocalips spekes, In..hayres cledde. c1400Love Bonavent. Mirr. (1908) 50 Herto accordynge speketh the apostle..in his pistle ad hebreos. 1585Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. ix. 42 b, Strabo spake aright, where he sayeth [etc.]. 1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 250 My old Anonimall Manuscrip speakes..to the like effect. 1763C. Johnston Reverie I. 42 You are to observe that I speak in the general. 1816J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 265 It was admitted that the ancients spoke from justifiable data. 1869T. C. Barker Aryan Civiliz. x. (1871) 31 A law of the Twelve Tables at Rome speaks to the same effect.
6. fig. Of things: To be expressive or significant; to make some revelation or disclosure.
1535Coverdale Heb. xii. 24 The sprenklynge off bloude, that speaketh better then the bloude of Abel. 1602Marston Ant. & Mel. iv. Wks. 1856 I. 54 His grief speakes in his slow-pac't steps. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 267 His words here ended, but his meek aspect Silent yet spake. 1722Wollaston Relig. Nat. i. 8 We read of feet, that speak; of a philosopher, who answerd an argument by only getting up and walking. 1813Byron Corsair i. iii, A sail!—a sail!.. Her nation—flag—how speaks the telescope? 1843R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xiv. 153 His countenance now spoke promisingly. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ Valerie's Fate iv, Never had her heart spoken before.
b. To take effect legally; to be valid.
1837Act 7 Will. IV & 1 Vict. c. 26 §24 That every Will shall be construed.. to speak and take effect as if it had been executed immediately before the Death of the Testator. 1845Williams Real Prop. x. 154 marg., A will now speaks from the death of testator.
7. transf.
a. Of musical instruments, etc.: To emit a sound; spec. to utter a full and proper note. Chiefly rhet. or techn.
1602Shakes. Ham. v. ii. 286 Let the Kettle to the Trumpets speake. 1676Mace Musick's Mon. 70 The String lying upon This only Round single Fret, cannot but speak Clear. a1700Evelyn Diary 19 Nov. 1674, He..made it [a violin] speake like the voice of a man. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xliii, Horns and other instruments..spoke in sweet response to the harmony that proceeded from the pavilion. 1843Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. VI. 108/1 By coupling the pedals with the keys, 87 pipes are made to speak with each pedal. 1884Encycl. Brit. XVII. 833/2 This saves space in the interior [of the organ], and gives the large pipes room to speak.
b. Of natural forces, etc.: To emit noise, make a sound; to reverberate.
1604Shakes. Oth. ii. i. 5 Me thinks, the wind hath spoke aloud at Land. 1807–8Wordsw. Somnambulist 4 How softly then Doth Aira-force..Speak from the woody glen! 1859Meredith R. Feverel xlii, All at once the thunder spoke.
c. Of firearms: To emit a report on being fired.
1706E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 67 He loves dearly to hear his Guns speak. 1875Kinglake Crimea (1877) VI. vi. 218 The Coldstream..could not get their wet rifles to speak. 1896Pall Mall G. 8 Jan. 1/3 The news from the Transvaal, where the rifles have already spoken.
d. Of a hound: To give tongue; to bay.
1826Sporting Mag. (N.S.) XVII. 288 The hounds were speaking in the covert. 1888Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. 605 The word [‘quest’] is never used with hounds; they ‘give tongue’, ‘speak’, or ‘bay’.
e. Naut. (See quot.)
1833M. Scott Tom Cringle viii, The sharp little vessel began to speak, as the rushing sound through the water is called.
f. techn. (See quot.)
1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 205 When the tool is of proper size the pinion will ‘speak’ (make a squeaking noise) as the red stuff is drying off.
II. With preps., in more or less specialized uses.
8. speak about—: (see about prep. 7).
Cf. the common OE. sprecan ymb(e.
a1300Cursor M. 24795 For to spek abute sum pais. 1605Shakes. Macb. i. iii. 83 Were such things here, as we doe speake about? 1671H. M. tr. Erasm. Colloq. 263 He falls on speaking about the success of their business. 1737–[see 14 b]. 1843J. H. Newman Lett. (1891) II. 430 Sermons which speak more confidently about our position than I inwardly feel.
9. speak again(st—: (see again prep. 6 and against prep. 12).
c1000ælfric Numb. xxi. 7 We singodon swiðe, for þan þe we swa spræcon onᵹean god & þe. a1250Owl & Night. 678 Þar muþ shal speke ayeyn horte. 1388Wyclif Ps. xlix. 20 Thou sittynge spakist aȝens thi brother. a1425Cursor M. 2928 (Trin.), Þer aȝeyn durst he not speke. 1545R. Ascham Toxoph. i. (Arb.) 59, I speake not agaynst greate candelles, but agaynst lytle candels. 1605Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 243 Sith that both charge and danger Speake 'gainst so great a number. 1736Ainsworth i. s.v., If he go on to speak lavishly against me. 1847Tennyson Princ. vii. 112 On the other side Hortensia spoke against the tax. 1908R. Bagot A. Cuthbert xxvi. 339 Some regretted..that they spoke against her as an interloper.
10. speak for—.
a. To make a speech or plea in place of or on behalf of (a person); in later use esp. to plead for. Also, to make representations concerning (a thing). speak for yourself: expressing a desire to dissociate oneself from what another has just said or the assumptions behind it.
a1300K. Horn 171 Hor[n] spak for hem alle. 1382Wyclif Acts xxvi. 1 It is suffrid to thee, for to speke for thi silf. 1481Caxton Reynard iv. (Arb.) 7 How grymbart the dasse..spack for reynart. 1535Coverdale 2 Kings iv. 13 Hast thou eny matter to be spoken for to the kynge? c1643Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 139 An unpardonable fault, insomuch that no man would speak for him. 1736Ainsworth i. s.v., If ever he do so again, I will never speak for him. 1738Swift Polite Conversation i. 16 Pray, sir, speak for yourself. 1777C. Reeve Champion of Virtue 102 Take courage and speak for yourself. 1778Boswell in London Mag. Feb. 58/1, I remember hearing a late celebrated infidel tell that he was not at all pleased when the infidel wife of his friend, a poet of some eminence, addressed him in a company in London, ‘we Deists’.—Speak for yourself, Madam, said he abruptly. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxxvi, ‘I say, speak not for her!’ replied Leicester. 1824― Redgauntlet III. x. 292 ‘Speak for yourself, friend,’ said Peter, scornfully. 1858Longfellow M. Standish iii , Why don't you speak for yourself, John? 1916G. B. Shaw Androcles & Lion Prologue 3 Megaera: Everybody knows that the Christians are the very lowest of the low. Androcles: Just like us, dear. Megaera: Speak for yourself. 1946L. P. Hartley Sixth Heaven ii. 46 ‘Speak for yourself,’ said Barbara defiantly. 1976Times Lit. Suppl. 30 Apr. 508/4 We learn that ‘when viewing serials..we feel we know these characters well enough, for example, to say hello to in the street.’.. My reaction to this is to say: speak for yourself!
transf.1607Shakes. Cor. iii. i. 127 There Mutinies and Reuolts..spoke not for them. 1722–7Boyer Dict. Royal i. s.v. Parler, Ses Services parlent pour lui, his Services speak for him. 1770Langhorne Plutarch (1879) II. 664/2 He had a very engaging countenance, which spoke for him before he opened his lips. 1859Tennyson Merlin & V. 466 She ceased,..and let her eyes Speak for her.
b. To beg or request; to ask for.
1560Bible (Geneva) Song Sol. viii. 8 What shal we do for our sister..when she shalbe spoken for? 1594Lyly Mother Bombie i. iii, They giue vs pap with a spoon before we can speak, and when wee speake for that wee loue, pap with a hatchet. 1605Shakes. Lear i. iv. 267 The shame it selfe doth speake For instant remedy.
c. To order; to bespeak; to engage.
1679Bunyan Israel's Hope Encour. Wks. 1855 I. 583 As your great traders do with the goods that their chapmen have either bought or spoke for. 1730Bailey (fol.), To Bespeak, to speak for something; to give order for it to be made. 1743Lond. & Country Brew. iv. (ed. 2) 284 The next time he went to the Brew-house to speak for more. 1815Jane Austen Emma xv, The bell was rung, and the carriages spoken for. 1859Mrs. Stowe Minister's Wooing xii. 115 Three months beforehand, all her days and nights are spoken for. 1943Sun (Baltimore) 25 Feb. 6/1 (Advt.), We hope to preserve even more food this year. But well over half of this season's pack is already spoken for by the Government. 1971Petticoat 17 July 29/2 He's not married, but he's involved, as they say, spoken for, and has lived with his girlfriend in London for the last few years.
d. To indicate; to betoken.
1832Philological Museum I. 335 The great mass of evidence that speaks for an intimate affinity between the Pelasgians and the Hellenes. 1852Mrs. Craik Head of Family viii, It may speak very ill for Mr. Græme's knowledge of the world, to confess [etc.]. 1910Hirth in Encycl. Brit. VI. 191/1 This does not seem to speak for racial consanguinity.
e. to speak for itself, to be significant or self-evident. (Cf. 29 c.)
1779Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 213 The letter was not from any of the family, she said, and that speaks for itself. 1821Scott Kenilw. viii, But I need not detail them—the fact speaks for itself. 1869J. Martineau Ess. II. 127 The paragraph..will speak for itself.
11. speak of—.
a. To mention, or discourse upon, in speech or writing. (See also 14 b.)
c825Vesp. Psalter cxviii. 46 [Ic] sprec of cyðnissum ðinum in ᵹesihðe cyninga. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Luke ix. 11 [He] spræcc him of ric godes. c1175Lamb. Hom. 73 Of þe halie fulht spec ure drihten on oðer stude. c1200Ormin 6784 Goddspellboc ne spekeþþ nohht Off all þatt oþerr genge. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 2683 Here es þe thred parte of þis buke spedde Þat spekes of þe dede. 1422Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 203 Of this Spekyth the boke of Iudyth. 1530Palsgr. 727/2, I go nowe beyondsee, but if God send me lyfe you shall here speke of me. 1603Parsons Three Convers. Eng. ii. viii. 481, I shall haue occasion to speake againe of these heretiks in the next chapter. 1730A. Gordon Maffei's Amphith. 58 The Theatre..is spoke of by Martial. 1818Scott Br. Lamm. xviii, ‘And speaking of red-game,’ said the young scape-grace, interrupting his father. 1884tr. Lotze's Metaph. 43 A common-place with every philosophy which spoke of Things at all.
transf.1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xlii, Every object on which her eye fixed seemed to speak of the marchioness. 1833L. Ritchie Wand. by Loire 180 At Doulon every thing begins to speak of the neighbourhood of a city. 1894M. Pemberton Sea Wolves xi, He..wore sea-boots to his hips, though they spoke of much service and of decay.
b. With advs., as evil, ill, well.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Mark ix. 39 Seðe..mæᵹe recone yfle spreca [L. male loqui] of mec. 1382Wyclif Ps. lxxvii. 19 And euele thei speken of God. 1382― Jer. xl. 16 Fals forsothe thou spekist of Ismael. c1440Jacob's Well 83 Whan þou spekyst euyll of an-oþer mannys goodnesse. 1530Palsgr. 727/2 Never speke yl of men behynde their backes. 1535–[see evil adv. 1 b]. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 598 He was..well spoken of of all men. 1611Bible Luke vi. 26 When all men shall speake well of you. 1635R. N. tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. Introd., Howbeit her dayes have beene ill spoken of. 1807Southey Espriella's Lett. II. 263 The boys..spake well of their masters.
c. In the phr. to speak of (in later use = ‘worth mentioning’). Chiefly in negative constructions.
Also (b) = ‘if mentioned or considered’.
(a)1485Caxton Chas. Gt. 27 Of hys strengthe is not a lytel thynge to speke of, For [etc.]. 1582Bentley Mon. Matrones iii. 269 For that which I haue hitherto done, is nothing at all to speake of. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 633 This Towne is not very ancient to speak of. 1654Gataker Disc. Apol. 47 None out-went me, few to speak of came neer me. 1694Wood Life 23 Oct., No raine to speak of all Sept. and Oct. 1815Scott Guy M. xlv, He had ridden the whole day..without tasting anything ‘to speak of’. 1881Freeman in Stephens Life & Lett. (1895) II. 244 To-day has come the first snow to speak of.
(b)1580G. Harvey Let. to Spenser in S.'s Wks. (1912) 628/1 For the Romanes to speake of, are but verye Ciphars in this kinde.
†d. not to be spoken of, (to be) beyond all description. Obs.
1600Nashe Summer's Last Will 989 Wks. (Grosart) VI. 126 As for my Pease and my Fetches, they are famous, and not to be spoken of. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. v. ii. 47 Then haue you lost a Sight which was to bee seene, cannot bee spoken of.
†e. To bespeak; to order. Obs.—1
1596Shakes. Merch. V. ii. iv. 5 We haue not spoke vs yet of Torch-bearers.
f. With verbal ns.: To suggest, propose, hint at (doing something).
1586Ld. Burghley in Leycester Corr. (Camden) 450 Some spek of namyng the count Morrice. 1611Bible 1 Sam. xxx. 6 The people spake of stoning him. 1792Burns Duncan Gray ii, Duncan..Spak o' lowpin' ower a linn.
12. speak on—.
†a. To address or talk to (a person). Obs.
1370Robt. Cisyle in Halliw. Nugæ Poet. (1844) 58 Lowde on hym he began to speke. c1420Sir Amadace (Camden) xxxvii, So come a mon..And speke on him fulle hastely.
†b. = To speak of (see 11 a, b). Obs.
1593Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. ii. 69 (Q.), I am well spoke on, I can heare it with mine owne eares. 1647J. Saltmarsh Spark. Glory (1847) 28 The Baptism of Christ..is that one Baptism spoken on in Ephes. 4.
c. To discourse upon (a subject, etc.).
1818Scott Br. Lamm. xxix, Mr. Hayston speaks on a subject on which you have long since agreed to give him a favourable hearing. 1876Nature 7 Dec. 128 The Society..has invited Prof. Nordenskjöld to speak on the Kara Sea and Jenissei.
13. speak past—. To talk at cross-purposes with; to speak incomprehensibly to. Cf. G. vorbeireden.
1952G. Himmelfarb Lord Acton i. 2 This historian..ended his life..as a lecturer doomed to speak past his audience. 1975United Church Observer Nov. 15/1 The most important issue..is whether we can speak together and converse together, not at each other or past each other.
14. speak to—.
a. To address words or discourse to (a person); to talk to, converse with.
to speak to (see quot. 1837), so as to have conversation or personal acquaintance with one. Freq. in the phr. ‘to know (one) to speak to’.
Beowulf 1171 Þu on sælum wes..& to Ᵹeatum sprec mildum wordum. c825Vesp. Psalter xlix. 7 [Ic] sprecu to Israhela folce. 971Blickl. Hom. 141 Heo spræc to þæm weorode & cwæþ [etc.]. c1000Ags. Gosp. John x. 25 Ic spece [c 1160 speke] to eow & ᵹe ne ᵹelyfað. c1250Gen. & Ex. 925 After ðis spac god to abram. a1300Cursor M. 11964 Sai þou: i der noght til him speke. 1382Wyclif 1 Cor. xiv. 3 He that prophecieth, spekith to men. c1400Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) iv. xxiii. 69, I wold haue spoke to them but I ne myght nought. 1528Roy Rede me (Arb.) 118 Thus to the Cardinall he spake. 1581G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 13 b, If..you resalute not a friend, he will speake no more to you. a1635Sibbes Confer. Christ & Mary (1656) 15 When he speaks aloof to her, she answereth aloof to him. 1651Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxv. 216 Commanded by a Voice, as one man speaketh to another. 1751Eliza Heywood Betsy Thoughtless I. 165 What reply she made I do not know, being speaking to Wildly at the same time. 1837Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 21 How I remember the first time I ever saw you ‘to speak to’. 1908R. Bagot A. Cuthbert xxvi. 342 It was too late that night to speak to her.
b. With of, on, or about (a matter, etc.).
c1200Ormin 10466 Þatt fir Þatt Sannt Johan Bapptisste Spacc offe to þa sanderrmenn. c1450Lovelich Merlin 3204 What scholen we don of this mateer That he to vs spak of now heer? 1530Palsgr. 727/1, I speke to him of my busynes. 1611Bible 1 Sam. ix. 17 Behold the man whom I spake to thee of. 1737Gentl. Mag. VII. 492, I have..spoke to the King of England..about your Friend. 1796H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 234 They spake to me of the various Works of Nature. 1804Med. Jrnl. XII. 448, I also spoke to the principal surgeons..on the subject of vaccination. 1888‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. iv, Whatever you wish for, you have only to speak to nurse here about it.
c. transf. or fig.; esp. to appeal to, to influence, affect, or touch.
1604Shakes. Oth. i. ii. 23 My demerites May speake (vnbonnetted) to as proud a Fortune As this. 1606― Ant. & Cl. i. ii. 188 More vrgent touches Do strongly speake to vs. 1700J. A. Astry tr. Saavedra-Faxardo I. 116 b, Elogies inscribed on Tombs, speak not to the Dead, but to the Living. 1734tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) II. ii. 32 To give a more lively idea of the greatness of the victory, by speaking in some measure to the eye. 1825T. Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Doubts & F. vii. II. 231 How strongly it speaks to the heart. 1891Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xvi, The actor had spoken to them in the eloquence of rhythmic gesture.
d. To apply to (a person) for a special purpose, esp. for help or service; to influence or bribe; spec. to propose marriage to. Cf. sense 1 g.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 130 My Wyf..Spak to þe spinsters for to spinne hit softe. 1535[see 10 a]. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. i. 3 Good: Speake to th' Mariners. 1669R. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS. I. 430 Their friends having spoke to me to speak for them to the King. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 26 If you would have a lodging room there, you must speak to the Porter of the Han. 1809Ld. Granville Let. 14 Nov. in B. Askwith Piety & Wit (1982) iv. 64, I spoke to Harriet last night; she was very nervous and so was I... She consented to my speaking to the Duke [her father]. 1840Thackeray in Fraser's Mag. XXII. 230/1 ‘Will you marry me?’ In fact, this very speech had been taught him by cunning Gann, who saw well enough that Swigby would speak to one or other of his daughters. c1860Househ. Words (Flügel), When judges were corrupt,..and attorney generals were to be ‘spoken to’. 1863Mrs. Gaskell Dark Night's Work iv. 46 He had some discussion with himself as to whether he should speak to her, and so secure her promise. 1977G. Butler Brides of Friedberg i. 12 Next day someone I would much rather have accepted spoke to me riding in the Row. But it was too late.
e. To treat of or deal with, to discuss or comment on, (a subject) in speech or writing.
1610J. Dove Advt. Seminaries 42, I desire them therefore..to speake to these foure points. 1637Heylin Answ. Burton 78, For your charges,..I meane to take them..in order, and speake as briefely to them, as you would desire. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ ii. vi. §4 Though it be a subject little spoken to either by Jewish or Christian Writers. 1706Stanhope Paraphr. III. 555 Part of this Scripture hath already been spoken to. 1724Swift Drapier's Lett. Wks. 1755 V. ii. 110 A lawyer, who speaks to a cause, when the matter hath been almost exhausted by those who spoke before. 1778Earl Malmesbury Diaries & Corr. I. 166 Unprepared as he was for such a proposition, he could not, he said, off-hand, speak to it accurately. 1869Daily News 28 Apr., The report..was spoken to by the Most Rev. Chairman..and the Bishop of Derry. 1880Ibid. 19 Mar. 2/3, I wish to call your attention..to..that allegation, and I shall endeavour to speak to it.
f. To give († or constitute) evidence regarding (a thing); to attest, bear testimony to.
1624Bp. R. Montagu Immed. Addr. 201 [These] speake indeed to the practise since it was in beginning. 1774Mitford Ess. Harmony Lang. 195 From the antient Greeks I know of nothing speaking to the sound of the diphthong ου. 1776Trial Nundocomar 65/2, I cannot speak to the motions of the army. 1817Jas. Mill Brit. India III. ii. 85 The witness was not allowed to speak to the consultation of that day. 1825Hazlitt Spirit of Age 227 This is a nice criticism, and we cannot speak to its truth. 1888Times (weekly ed.) 2 Nov. 22/4 [He] asked that witnesses might be called to speak to his character.
g. To address with reproof; to admonish.
1753J. Collier Art Torment. i. ii. (1811) 67 Who, she hopes, on being spoke to, will do so no more. 1872J. Ingelow Off Skelligs xix, ‘Papa,’ he exclaimed, in a loud, plaintive voice,..‘will you speak to Giles?’
h. Cant. To rob (a person or place); to steal.
1799Spirit Public Jrnls. III. 353 Twenty-four highway and footpad robberies,..none of the parties spoke to on the road able to swear positively. 1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., To speak to a person or place is to rob them, and to speak to any article is to steal it.
i. slang. (See quot.)
1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict. s.v. Spoke, Upon any great misfortune befalling a man,..his friends will say, Poor fellow, I believe he's spoke to, meaning it is all over with him.
j. Of hounds: To give indications of (a fox, scent, etc.) by barking.
1845Youatt Dog iii. 78 When a hound first speaks in cover to a fox. 1883Standard 10 Aug. 2/1 The hounds could not speak to the line.
15. speak unto—.
a. To speak to (= 14 a).
c1386Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 586 In al his drede vnto the fox he spak. c1400Brut ccxviii. 258 He..spake vnto ham of þe Kyngus honour. 1526Tindale 1 Cor. xiv. 3 He that prophesieth, speaketh vnto men. 1640Fuller Abel Rediv., Life Abbot (1867) II. 292 His majesty spake pleasantly unto him. 1684Bunyan Pilgr. ii. (1862) 217 [They were] spoke kindly unto by him. 1839Bailey Festus 136, I speak unto the young, for I am of them.
†b. To discourse upon or deal with (a topic).
1639Ld. Digby Lett. conc. Relig. (1651) 108 The precedency..is pretended due upon another ground also, which I have yet spoke little unto. 1675J. Owen Indwelling Sin x. (1732) 117 These and the like things,..which are commonly spoken unto, is the Mind of a Believer obliged to attend..constantly unto.
16. speak upon—, to speak about, of, or on. (Cf. 12 b, c.)
1535Coverdale Isaiah xix. 17 Who so doth but speake vpon it, shal put them in feare. 1550tr. Senonoys' Godly Saiyngs (1846) 147 The doctrine of the gospell whyche we do professe, shal be evill spoken upon. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxxviii, Remember I do not promise ever to speak upon them.
17. speak with—.
a. To converse with, talk to; to consult or confer with.
In OE. and early ME. similarly with mid.
971Blickl. Hom. 241 He þæt is se þe wið me spræc. c1000ælfric Exod. xxxii. 23 Þa þu.. wið god spæce. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 85 Alse wise hire lerden, þanne hie wið hire speken. a1250Owl & Night. 1553 Ne mot no mon wiþ hire speke. c1320Sir Tristr. 811 Wiþ morgan speke wil y And spede. 1426Audelay Poems 19 Ȝe spekyn with hym in spirit. 1470–85Malory Arthur i. x. 48 They spak with the knyghtes & welcomed hem. 1530Palsgr. 727/2 He shalbe spoken with towchyng your cause. 1622in Foster Eng. Factories Ind. (1908) II. 10 They both retired themselves to there privacy, soe that wee could not then speake with them. 1675City Mercury 18–25 Nov. 2/1 He [a Physician] is any time to be spoke with from eight in the Morning to four in the Afternoon. 1764Foote Patron iii. Wks. 1799 I. 356 Not to be spoke with! Don't tell me, Sir; he must, he shall. 1816Scott Old Mort. xxxvi, Your uncle..has been spoken with, and declines visiting you. 1847Tennyson Princ. ii. 58 Not for three years to speak with any men.
fig.1663Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xv. (1687) 134 When any temptation desires to speak with you, let the answer be ready, that there is other company within.
b. Naut. To hold communication with (another vessel). Cf. 33 b.
1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 182 The expedition bearing vp to speak with vs, the ships fell foule. 1708Lond. Gaz. No. 4422/7 We made Signal to the Commanding Officer..that we would speak with him. 1745P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 24 On our speaking with her we found she had sprung her Fore-stay. 1775Romans Florida App. 6, I need not direct seamen how to proceed, in order to speak with any vessel they chance to see.
c. To communicate with (a place). rare—1.
1659Pell Impr. Sea 275 In Greenland, and Nova Zembla, &c. which onely in Summer-time may bee spoke with.
†d. Cant. To have to do with; to steal or rob (cf. 14 h). Obs.—0
1725New Cant. Dict. s.v., I will never speak with any thing but Wedge or Cloy; I'll never steal, or have to do with any thing but Plate, or Money, &c. 1785Grose Dict. Vulgar T. s.v., I spoke with the cull on the cherry coloured prancer, I robbed the man on the black horse.
III. With advs. in special uses.
18. speak out (cf. 36).
a. To talk in a loud voice, or so as to be heard distinctly.
1530Palsgr. 727/2 Speke out that a man may here you. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxxxiii. 262 Speke out hyer that ye may the better be herde. 1647Hexham i, To speake out alowd. Ibid., To speak half out, or mumbling. 1712[see out adv. 11]. 1908R. Bagot A. Cuthbert v. 44 Jim stared at him. ‘What did you say?’ he asked. ‘Oh, nothing! Did I speak out loud?’
b. To talk freely or unreservedly.
to speak out in meeting (U.S.), to express one's opinions freely or openly (Thornton).
1694T. Brown Lottery for Ladies & G. Wks. 1711 IV. 172 Is it not as modest to speak out, as to make broad Signs? 1765G. Williams in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1843) I. 396 Why do not you speak out as to Lord Gower? Is he to come in or not? 1809Med. Jrnl. XXI. 150 But with all who have the courage to speak out, a difficulty remains. 1830Mass. Spy 23 June 4/1 O dear, I spoke out in meeting. 1842Tennyson Morte d'Arthur 150 Speak out: what is it thou hast heard, or seen? 1906Springfield (Mass.) Weekly Republic 13 Sept. 8, I do not think the president will think any the less of me for speaking right out in meeting and saying that I am not for it.
c. To break into speech.
1792Burns Country Lassie i, Out spak a dame in wrinkled eild.
d. To be apparent or evident.
1845–6Trench Huls. Lect. Ser. ii. iii. 183 The sense of this speaks out in every arrangement.
†19. speak over, to say too much, to exaggerate. Obs. (Cf. overspeak v.)
1610A. Cooke Pope Joan 87 If you bring not some author for the proofe of this point, you must giue me leaue to thinke you speake ouer. 1626R. Harris Hezekiah's Recov. 4 The Orator spake not over, when hee intimated that Ingratitude was a kinde of Unjustice.
20. speak together, to hold conference or consultation; to confer.
c1205Lay. 3248 Þa ilomp hit..þat þe Scottene king & þe duk speken to gaðere. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 270 Monkes and mendynauntz..selden speken togideres. c1400New Test. (Paues) Acts xxvi. 31 [They] wente biside ande speke togider. c1450Lovelich Merlin 3201 Thanne spoken they to-gederes hem be-twene. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, ii. iii. 29 He was not so resolu'd, when we last spake together. 1677Coles Eng.-Lat. Dict. (ed. 17) 1764 To speak together, colloquor. 1859Tennyson Marr. Geraint 385 While the Prince and Earl Yet spoke together.
21. speak up.
a. To speak strongly for (= on behalf of, in defence of) a person.
1705Hearne Collect. 17 Oct. (O.H.S.) I. 57, I spoke up for him. 1844Dickens Mart. Chuz. xliv, It's all very well for you to speak up for him... You'll get a fortune by him.
b. To raise the voice in speaking; to talk boldly or unreservedly; to break into speech.
a1723in Child Ballads III. 135/2 Speak up, jolly blade, never fear. 1863Mrs. H. Wood Trevlyn Hold II. 226 Timid Mrs. Chattaway..spoke up to the rescue. 1865Kingsley Herew. i, Out he stepped to your father's side, and spoke right up before the king. 1896[see specksioneer].
IV. trans.
22. a. To articulate or utter (a word or words).
to speak not a word of, to make no mention or suggestion of. to speak a (good) word for: see word n.
Beowulf 341 Wlanc Wedera leod word æfter spræc. 971Blickl. Hom. 31 Se forhwyrfda gast spræc forhwyrfedlice word. c1000Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) lvii. 3 Syððan..heo on life lyᵹe-word spæcon. c1200Moral Ode 9 (Trin. Coll. MS.), Fele idel word ich habbe ispeken. a1300Cursor M. 4342 Ar i ga þou spek wit me a word or tua. a1400–50Alexander 243 Þou a wirschipfull worde has werpid & spoken. 1470–85Malory Arthur xviii. xx. 761 There they fond..a poure man sittyng in the bargets ende and no word wold he speke. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. ii. 176 A sorte of the Grekes..spake many woordes of reproche by the kyng. 1611Bible 2 Sam. xix. 10 Why speake ye not a word of bringing the king backe? 1651Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxii. 196 Though the mind be incapable of any Notion at all from the words spoken. 1755B. Martin Mag. Arts & Sci. 13, I will follow, when I have spoke a Word to one of the Millers. 1806Wordsw. Horn Egremont Castle 87 Thou hast a dungeon, speak the word! And there he may be lodged, and thou be Lord. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay ix, Elsie followed her into the hall to speak some last words.
b. With cognate accus.: To utter, make, or deliver (a speech or statement).
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxv. §5 On ða ilcan spræce þe þu ær spræce. c930Laws Athelstane vi. viii. §8 (Liebermann I. 180/1), Maniᵹe men specað ᵹemahlice spræce. a1300K. Horn 387 He spac faire speche. c1400Destr. Troy 8864 When his speche was spokyn, & sped to þe last. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. iii. i. 77 When you haue spoken your speech, enter into that Brake. 1603― Meas. for M. v. 265 One that hath spoke most villanous speeches of the Duke. 1712Hearne Collect. 24 May, He desir'd that he might speak a speech publickly upon that occasion. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. v. i, Speeches are spoken;..audible within doors and without. 1876‘L. Carrol’ Hunting the Snark iv. vii, The rest of my speech..You shall hear when I've leisure to speak it.
c. Similarly with other objects denoting a word, sentence, speech, etc., uttered or recited. to speak one's piece: see piece n. 17 g.
a1300Cursor M. 23945 Spell yeit i wald spek if i cuth. c1375Ibid. 1616 (Fairf.), Þe propheci..þat spokin was of þat childe dere. c1400Rom. Rose 7519 Thou spak a jape not long ago..Of a young man. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 169 Some will speake Oracles, that a manne can not tell whiche waie to take them. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iii. v. 75 After we had embrast,..& (as it were) spoke the prologue of our Comedy. 1653Walton Angler 184, I will speak you a copy of verses. 1795Wolcot (P. Pindar) Pindariana Wks. 1812 IV. 245 He made many quotations and spoke them with propriety. 1823Scott Quentin D. xxxii, The last sentence was spoken in a tone which made all the councillors tremble. 1861Paley Aeschylus (ed. 2) Choeph. 915 note, Orestes..speaks two continuous verses. 1865Morris Jason iii. 291 Whose name I speak not.
fig.1599B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. ii. iii, He speakes all creame, skimd. 1634Milton Comus 804 As when the wrath of Jove Speaks thunder..To som of Saturns crew.
†d. To employ (the voice) in utterance. Obs.
1382Wyclif Rev. x. 3 And whan he hadde cried, seuene thundres spaken her voices. a1586Sidney Ps. xviii. iv, Then thundred heav'nly sire, Then spake he his lowd voice.
23. a. To utter or say (something) by way of a remark or statement.
The object is freq. a pronoun, as it, this, etc., or a relative clause introduced by that (which) or what.
Beowulf 531 Hwæt þu worn fela..ymb Brecan spræce. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxviii. §3 For oðrum ðincgum ic hit spræc ᵹet swiðor. 971Blickl. Hom. 19 Eac is to ᵹeþencenne hwæt Drihten spræc. c1000Ags. Gosp. Mark xiii. 11 Specað þæt eow on þære tide ᵹe-seald bið. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1048, Eustatius..spæc wið hine þæt þæt he þa wolde. c1160Hatton Gosp. John xii. 50 Þa þing þe ic sprece ic speke swa se fader me saiᵹde. c1205Lay. 26868 Þis wes al þus ispeken. 13..Cursor M. 19115 (Gött.), Þe apostlis speckand þis and mare, Þe preistes come. 1382Wyclif Mark xiii. 11 Speke ȝe that thing that schal be ȝouen to ȝou in that our. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 188 What is that, that thou spekyste. 1582Allen Martyrdom Campion (1908) 47 He was urged..to speake what he thought of the said Bull of Pius Quintus. 1622Fletcher Span. Cur. v. i, I dare tell you..what I have spoken Freely behind your back. a1662Heylin Laud (1668) 378 To speak the matter in a word. 1711Spectator No. 192 ⁋6 The most indifferent thing has its Force and Beauty when it is spoke by a kind Father. 1780Mirror No. 99, The account he gives of his own feelings..is evidently spoken in earnest. 1830tr. Aristophanes' Acharn. 26 Grant me yet thy pardon, if..I have spoke or triflingly uttered anything. 1871R. Ellis tr. Catullus li. 2 He, if I dare speak it, ascends above them [the Gods].
b. With objective clause: To state or declare that, etc.
Beowulf 1595 Gomele ymb godne on ᵹeador spræcon, þæt hiᵹ þæs æðelinges eft ne wendon [etc.]. c900tr. Baeda's Hist. iii. ii. (1890) 156 Ða ᵹehyrde he sumne þara broðra sprecan, þæt he wolde feran to þæm halᵹan Cristes mæle. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 369 Murtherers..which spake it of theyr own mind, that Fernando Gonzage had waged them to slay Octavius. 1611Shakes. Cymb. iv. ii. 354 The ruine speakes, that sometime It was a worthy building. 1663Gerbier Counsel 62 Experience speaks that as times change..prises may alter. 1766Complete Farmer s.v. Surveying, The farmer speaks loudly, that..no more should be measured..than the plow or scythe can go over.
c. With superlative adjs. as (one's) best, last.
a1631Donne Poems (1650) 59 Here dead men speake their last. 1876Trevelyan Macaulay II. ix. 132 In the set party fights..he did not speak his best.
24. To utter or express (truth, falsehood, etc.) in words or speech.
Beowulf 2864 Þæt la mæᵹ secgan, se ðe wyle soð specan [etc.]. c825Vesp. Psalter v. 7 Ðu forspildes hie ða ða spreocað leasunge. Ibid. xxvii. 3 Ða ðe spreocað sibbe mid ðone nestan. 971Blickl. Hom. 223 He a to æᵹhwylcum soð & riht sprecende wæs. c1000Lambeth Ps. cxliii. 8 Þara muð specende wæs idelnesse. a1225Ancr. R. 82 Ful speche is as of lecherie,..þæt unweaschene muðes spekeð oþer hwule. 13..Deo Gratias 68 in E.E.P. (1862) 126 Þenne i rede þou rule þe so Þat Men may speke worschupe bi þe. 1382Wyclif Jude 16 The mouth of hem spekith pride. c1400Rom. Rose 7514 For it is better stille be, Than for to speken harme. 1470–85Malory Arthur x. viii. 425 Alle knyghtes speken of hym worship. 1535Coverdale Eph. iv. 15 Speake euery man the trueth vnto his neghboure. 1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 129 Beleeue it (Page) he speakes sence. 1646Crashaw Steps to Temple 74 O, 'tis not Spanish, but 'tis heaven she speaks. 1711Addison Spect. No. 35 ⁋1 If they speak Nonsense, they believe they are talking Humour. a1766F. Sheridan Nourjahad (1767) 179 Nothing is more certain..than that Cozro has spoke the truth. 1816Scott Bl. Dwarf xii, My cousin Ellieslaw, who speaks treason as if it were a child's nursery rhymes. 1841Browning Pippa Passes Poems (1905) 169 Do you think I fear to speak the bare truth once for all?
25. With preps.: To utter or direct (words, remarks, etc.) against, to (also † on, upon, etc.) a person. Also fig.
c825Vesp. Psalter cviii. 20 Ða ðe spreocað yfel [L. mala] wið sawle minre. c1000Lambeth Ps. cviii. 20 Þa þe specaþ yfelu toᵹeanes sawle mine. c1175Lamb. Hom. 13 Ne spec þu aȝein þine nexta nane false witnesse. a1300E.E. Psalter xxvii. 4 Þat spekes pees to neghburgh hisse. a1300Cursor M. 16495 Þai..sal on me tresun spek. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 63 Forto..destroie þat kynde, þat ouht to him couth speke. 1535Coverdale Ps. lxxxiv. 8 He shal speake peace vnto his people. Ibid. cviii. 20 Those that speake euell agaynst my soule. 1547Homilies i. Contention T j b, To suffre euery man to speake vpon me what thei list. 1599Shakes. Much Ado v. i. 21 Men Can..speake comfort to that griefe, Which they themselues not feele. 1603― Meas. for M. v. i. 129 For certaine words he spake against your Grace In your retirment. 1821Wordsw. Eccl. Sonnets iii. ii, Last night..that Vision spake Fear to my Soul. 1838[I. Williams] Cathedral 144 Love..Speaks peace to fall'n humanity.
26. a. To declare in words: to make known by speech; to tell (of).
to speak one's mind: see mind n.1 9 a.
c825Vesp. Psalter xvi. 4 Ðætte..ne sprece muð min wirc monna. Ibid. lxxvii. 2 Ic spreocu foresetenisse from fruman weorulde. c1000Lambeth Ps. cxliv. 11 Wuldor rices þines hi cweðaþ..& mihte þine hi specaþ. c1200Ormin 12965 Forr þatt he wollde beldenn hemm To spekenn þeȝȝre nede. a1300Cursor M. 24074 Þat es na tung mai speke wit word..Hu þat vr stur was strang. 1382Wyclif 1 Cor. ii. 7 We speken the wysdom of God, that is hid in mysterie. 1513Bk. Keruynge A iv, Than serue ye forth the table manerly, yt euery man may speke your curtesy. 1595Shakes. John iii. i. 39 What other harme haue I..done, But spoke the harme that is by others done? 1611Tourneur Ath. Trag. ii. i, Here's one,..saies hee is newly returned from Ostend, and has some businesse of import to speake. 1693Prior C'tess Exeter playing on Lute 17 Your Art no other Art can speak. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 40 You have, in a few words, spoke the whole of the matter. 1812Crabbe Tales iv. 279 Speak, then, my fate. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. iii. iii, Bound to speak his opinion. 1852Thackeray Esmond ii. ii, I spoke my business.
b. To state or declare in writing, etc.
a1225Ancr. R. 48 Þis is nu ðe uorme dole, þet ich habbe ispeken hiderto, of ower seruise. c1449Pecock Repr. i. x. 51 The firste of the iij. opiniouns spoken and sett forth..in the first chapiter. 1562Winȝet Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 4 Albeit the time be schort, sumthing of ȝour prais man we speik. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. iii. 127 Of the West, I cannot speake any thing certaine or generall. 1672in E. B. Jupp Carpenters' Co. (1887) 305 The said Statute..makes no mencion at all nor speakes a tittle of a Joyner. a1763W. King Polit. & Lit. Anecd. (1819) 121, I speak this upon a supposition that Bing [sic] was justly put to death. 1849Rock Ch. of Fathers i. viii. (1903) III. 45 The monument itself, with its little chantry altar,..speaks what was his belief while here.
c. transf. Of musical instruments: To announce, indicate, or proclaim by sound.
1702Rowe Tamerl. i. i. 120 These Trumpets speak his Presence. 1781Cowper Anti-Thelyphth. 161 The trumpet now spoke Marmadan at hand. 1837A. Tennent Force Imag. 7 In mournful plaints of sorrow now It [sc. the pibroch] speaks the battle's close.
27. To use as a language; to talk.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7539 Þe normans..speke french as hii dude atom. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 345 Þis Gaythelus kouþe speke many langages and tonges. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 22 [He] coude wele speke the langage of Grece and of Latyne. 1530Palsgr. 727/1 They speke a pedlars frenche amongest them selfe. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 596 Welsh and English speaking both languages. 1720De Foe Capt. Singleton xvi. (1840) 281 Can they speak Dutch? 1756M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitl. Club) 204 The collonell..has been over all Europe, and speaks all the languages. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vii. II. 225 He knew no language but the English, as it was spoken by the common people. 1910Haverfield in Encycl. Brit. IV. 587/1 By this time the town populations..spoke Latin.
†28.
a. To make mention of (a person); to speak of or mention in a certain way; to commend (one) to another. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2390 Princes oueral aboute of ech kinedom Speke him vuel & hated him. a1300Cursor M. 12005 Sum him loued and spack o prise. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints iii. (Andrew) 975 For men will lichtly spek þe ill. c1449Pecock Repr. ii. x. 203 The King..whom the lesson of prophetis hath bifore spokun. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, iv. ii. 32 Yet thus farre Griffith, giue me leaue to speake him, And yet with Charity. 1618Sir D. Carleton Lett. (1775) 259 Who they [the ambassadors] shall be, is not yet fully determined; but count Ernest of Nassau is chiefly spoken. a1657Loveday Lett. (1663) 58, I pray speak me to her in the best Language of affection.
†b. To assign or dedicate. Obs.—1
1502Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) i. ii, All these thynges the whiche be spoken and consecrate unto god.
c. To bespeak or order. rare.
1508Stanbridge Vulgaria (W. de W.) B v, I haue spoken a payre of shone agaynst sondaye. 1936J. Steinbeck In Dubious Battle vi. 97 If the bitch ever whelps, I'd like to speak a pup.
†d. To use as a term or phrase. Obs.—1
1579E. K. Gloss. Spenser's Sheph. Cal. Apr. 118 A beauie of Ladyes, is spoken figuratively for a company or troupe.
29. a. To indicate, denote, or betoken; to reveal, make known.
1588Shakes. Tit. A. i. 438 Lord Titus,..Whose fury not dissembled speakes his griefes. 1608― Per. i. iii. 14 His seal'd commission, left in trust with me, Doth speak sufficiently he's gone to travel. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ ii. ii. §7 Two things speak much the wisdom of a Nation; good Laws, and a prudent management of them. 1727A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. I. x. 100 Some Porches and broken Pillars I have seen, that speak their ancient Grandeur. 1770Goldsm. Des. Vill. 122 The loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind. 1812Byron Ch. Har. i. lxxvi, Loud bellowings speak his woes. 1856Emerson Eng. Traits, Land, The solidity of the structures..speaks the industry of ages.
refl.1850Carlyle Latter-d. Pamph. v. (1872) 166 William the Silent spake himself best in a country liberated.
b. Of the countenance, eyes, etc.: To indicate or manifest by expression.
to speak daggers: see dagger n.1 3 b.
1601Shakes. All's Well i. iii. 185 Thine eies See it so grosely showne in thy behauiours, That in their kinde they speake it. 1666Dryden Ann. Mirab. lxxiii, His face spake hope, while deep his Sorrows flow. 1792Burns Duncan Gray iv, And oh! her een, they spak' sic things! 1820Keats Isabella v, If looks speak love-laws, I will drink her tears. 1859J. Watson Bards Border 78 Her look spoke affection.
†c. refl. Of things: To be self-evident. Obs. (Cf. 10 e.)
1689Popple tr. Locke's 1st Let. Toleration L.'s Wks. 1727 II. 244 Let us apply the last Case..and the Thing speaks itself. 1693Dryden Juvenal iii. Argt., The Story of this Satyr speaks it self.
30. a. To manifest or show (a person, thing, etc.) to be or do a certain thing, or to possess a certain quality or character. Const. with simple complement or with to be. Now arch.
(a)1605Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 159 Sundry Blessings hang about his Throne, That speake him full of Grace. 1666Dryden Ann. Mirab. xxiii, Men quit the open air, When Thunder speaks the angry Gods abroad. 1709Steele Tatler No. 75 ⁋3 His whole Person is finely turned, and speaks him a Man of Quality. 1796–7Jane Austen Pride & Prej. (1813) 139 A sudden noise below seemed to speak the whole house in confusion.
(b)1642Fuller Holy & Prof. State ii. viii. 79 Which speaks his judgement to be better then his invention. a1701Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 137 This speaks it self to have been part of some very August Pile. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1862) I. xi. 209 Each of which [varieties]..speaks the kind seldom to have mixed with any other. 1808Helen St. Victor Ruins of Rigonda II. 156 His graceful carriage..spoke him to be a person very different from what his plain garb might naturally denote. 1821Scott Pirate xxii, His acquaintance with the English language..plainly spoke him to be an Englishman.
b. To term or call; to describe as. rare.
1617Fletcher Valentinian v. viii, Mays't thou live ever spoken our Protector. 1825Scott Talism. xiv, Report speaks thee one unlikely to return thus from fight.
c. To describe (a person). Now arch.
1623B. Jonson Underwoods, Celebr. Charis viii, Make account,..And that quickly, speak your Man. 1662Cokaine Trag. Ovid iii. i, You mistake me, I cannot speak her to her merit. 1703Rowe Ulyss. i. i, But be it as it may; it speaks you well. 1780Cowper Progr. Error 460 How shall I speak thee, or thy pow'r address, Thou god of our idolatry, the press? 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxxix, Thou hast spoken the Jew,..as the persecution of such as thou art has made him. 1859Tennyson Elaine 154 To speak him true,..No keener hunter after glory breathes.
31. To express or signify. Now rare.
to speak volumes: see volume n.
1645Rutherford Tryal & Tri. Faith (1845) 32 Ram⁓horns speak not taking of towns in an ordinary providence. 1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 200 And they were so ready to make World speak seculum, that where we give a much unlike meaning, they still hold to it. 1875E. White Life in Christ ii. ix. (1878) 93 Men have compelled the narrative to speak a meaning contrary to its intention.
32. a. To send to, to cause to pass or enter into (another state, condition, or position) by speaking. Also refl. and with adj. complement.
1684Brook Precious Remedies 5 God can speak or nod you to hell in a moment. 1696Brookhouse Temple Opened Pref. A iv, So Now, the same word..comes to speak the Ataxy or Irregularities of the Four Monarchies into..an Harmonious Frame. 1781Cowper Expost. 256 He will be found..Too just to wink, or speak the guilty clear. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles iv. xxii, That glance, if guilty, would I dread More than the doom that spoke me dead! 1820A. A. Watts in Wiffen Aonian Hours (ed. 2) p. x, With gratitude thy bosom swelleth To him—who spoke them into birth! 1833New Monthly Mag. XXXVII. 356 He spoke himself into the Common Council.
†b. To create by speaking. Obs.—1 (Cf. 36 c.)
1735S. Wesley Hymn, ‘The Lord of Sabbath’ iv, 'Twas great to speak the World from Nought, 'Twas greater to redeem.
V.
33. a. To talk or converse with; to address.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xii. 46 Soecende spreca him [L. loqui ei]. c1250Gen. & Ex. 3400 Ðo cam ietro to moysen, To speken him and ðo kinnes-men. c1450Lovelich Grail liv. 28 Welcome..ȝe be, longe haue I desired ȝow to speken & se. 1561in Maitl. Cl. Misc. III. 290 He wald cum to þar chalmer and speik tham. 1581A. Hall Iliad viii. 140 Thus Hector comforts vp his mates, and speaks his horse. c1690J. Kirkton Hist. Ch. Scot. viii. (1817) 330 The two brethren went and spoke the Lord Stair. 1722De Foe Col. Jack ix, What, do you want to speak with the great master? He can't be spoke by you. 1805Scott Last Minstr. vi. xxvi, Like him of whom the story ran, Who spoke the spectre-hound in Man. 1852Bailey Festus (ed. 4) 331 Speaking him In that instinctive Paradisal tongue.
b. To communicate with (a passing vessel) at sea, by signal, speaking-trumpet, etc. Cf. 17 b.
1792M. Riddell Voy. Madeira 20 We spoke several East Indiamen. 1793Nelson 11 Oct. in Nicholas Disp. (1845) I. 331 Yesterday I spoke a Ship from Gibraltar. 1816Tuckey Narr. Exped. R. Zaire i. (1818) 10 We saw several vessels, but spoke none. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxxv, She hove-to for us, seeing that we wished to speak her. 1885Times (weekly ed.) 18 Sept. 14/2 A service of swift yawls..to run out and speak the fishing boats.
transf.1848Dickens Dombey xxxix, Two or three stragglers..‘spoke him’—so the captain entered it—on the subject of spectacles.
34. a. to speak (one) fair, to address (a person) courteously or kindly. (Cf. fair adv. 2.)
c1375Cursor M. 6836 (Fairf.), Speke ham faire wiþ þi mouþe. 1533More Apol. 71 b, I am content to..geue them no wors wordes agayn then yf they speke me fayre. 1583B. Melbancke Philotimus E iij b, They thought it good to..speake him faire while their feete were in his mouth. 1690Dryden Amphitryon ii. ii, Thou wouldst have a woman of the town..to be always speaking my husband fair! 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxxiii, I spoke the wretch fair; I appeared to confide in her. 1861Geo. Eliot Silas M. i, He was worth speaking fair, if it was only to keep him from doing you a mischief.
fig.1669Dryden Tyrannic Love iv. i, Heaven speaks me fair.
b. With other advs.
1871Browning Balaust. 1562 If thou speak us ill Many a true and ill thing shalt thou hear! 1872Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 470 Lancelot ever spake him pleasantly.
VI. With advs. in special senses.
†35. speak forth, to utter, declare, proclaim.
1526Tindale Matt. xiii. 35, I wyll..speake forth thinges whych have bene kepte secrete from the begynnynge off the worlde. 1611Bible Acts xxvi. 25, I..speake foorth the words of trueth and sobernesse. 1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 191 It would not..more fully speak forth its boundlessness. 1730Bailey (fol.), To Utter, to pronounce or speak forth.
36. speak out (cf. 18).
a. To utter; to make known in words; to declare openly or clearly.
1382Wyclif Acts xxvi. 25, I speke out the wordus of treuthe and sobrenesse. c1440Promp. Parv. 468/1 Spekyn owte, exprimo. c1449Pecock Repr. iii. x. 339 That he meened so myche bi hise..wordis, thouȝ he not alle hem out spake. 1602Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 545 'Tis well, Ile haue thee speake out the rest, soone. 1648J. Beaumont Psyche ii. clxiv, I'll make his Dumbness find a Tongue To speak out his imposture. 1676[see mind n.1 9 a]. 1815Scott Guy M. xii, You will often hear it mentioned... I will therefore speak it out. 1855Thackeray Newcomes II. xxi. 209, I have no right..to hear him speak out his heart, and tell it to any friend. 1889Jessopp Coming of Friars i. 42 Henry..spoke out his mind and showed that he was not too well-pleased.
b. Of things: To declare, manifest, etc.
1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. iv. 140 If thy rare qualities..could speake thee out. 1675Brooks Gold. Key Wks. 1867 V. 175 Now what do all these things speak out, but the certainty and reality of Christ's manhood? 1715J. Chappelow Rt. Way to be Rich (1717) 52 He is the highest bidder, and this speaks him out to be the greatest merchant.
c. poet. To create by speaking. rare. (Cf. 32 b.)
1635–56Cowley Davideis i. 783 They sung how God spoke out the worlds vast ball. 1844Mrs. Browning Drama of Exile 1055, I am the spirit of the harmless earth. God spake me softly out among the stars.
d. To talk out (see talk v. 9).
1893Westm. Gaz. 30 Mar. 2/3 He spoke with the obvious intention of speaking out the Bill.
37. Comb. speak-a-word room Sc. (see quots.); speak-back = talk-back; speak-box, an intercom device by a (usu. outside) door which allows a caller to speak to someone elsewhere in the building (cf. voice-box (b) s.v. voice n. 14); speak-out, an occasion on which people can speak freely and unreservedly; † speak-room = speak-house 1; † speak-truth, one who tells the truth; speak-your-weight machine, a weighing machine which announces one's weight in spoken words.
1614R. Tailor Hog hath lost Pearl in Dodsley O. Pl. (1780) VI. 427 But I do trouble thee too much, therefore Good Speak-truth, farewel. 1756M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitland Club) 175 The nuns..said they never wore it but when they came to the speak-room. 1825Jamieson Suppl., Speak-a-Word-Room, a parlour. 1839Chambers Tour Holland 23/1 Then we were whirled down again into a little speak-a-word room. 1940Chambers's Techn. Dict. 788/1 Speak-back, the subsidiary microphone-amplifier-reproducer in a motion-picture studio, by which the remote recordist can speak to the director on the sound-stage. 1960Guardian 14 Apr. 8/3 His most recent hero..attempts to teach speak-your-weight machines to sing. 1962N. Freeling Love in Amsterdam ii. 106 The buzzer went, and he heard Sophia's voice on the speakbox. 1966Illustr. London News 30 July 11 Kidbrooke has its own T.V. studio which incorporates a ‘speak-back’. 1966L. Deighton Billion-Dollar Brain xv. 146 His voice was..like a speak-your-weight machine. 1968Guardian 19 Aug. 14/5 Americans Abroad for McCarthy held a ‘speak out’ near the Speakers' Corner in a sunlit but swampy Hyde Park yesterday. 1970W. J. Burley To kill a Cat ix. 152 He rang the bell. Almost at once he was startled by a woman's voice from close at hand. A speak-box which he hadn't expected. He found the little metal grille and spoke into it. ‘Come up, please.’ 1977Daily Tel. 25 Oct. 11/4 At the New York ‘speak out’, women were invited to tell anonymously of abuse suffered from promiscuous or sexually taunting male employers or superiors. |