Speak

How to spell speak

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce speak

What does speak mean?

1. verbTo say words aloud or to communicate using language.

Speak in a sentence

• She will speak to the team about the new schedule on Monday.

• Many travellers speak at least two languages fluently.

Where does speak come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Speak comes from the Old English verb specan, an earlier form of which was sprecan, meaning simply 'to talk' or 'to utter words'. That older form carried an 'r' that was gradually dropped over the medieval period, which is why we say speak today rather than something like 'spreak'. It belongs to a wide Germanic family: Dutch spreken and German sprechen both still keep the older 'r' that English lost. As a strong verb it changes its vowel rather than adding an ending, giving the past forms spoke and spoken, a pattern inherited directly from its ancient Germanic roots. The plain four-letter spelling is regular and matches the sound, so the only mild trap is the 'ea' vowel pair shared with words like break and speak's close relative speech.

How the word is built

• speak (from Old English specan/sprecan: to talk, to utter words); a strong verb with the irregular forms spoke and spoken