From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Speak \Speak\, verb (used without an object) [imp. {Spoke}({Spake}Archaic); p. p. {Spoken}({Spoke}, Obs. or Colloq.); p. pr. & vb. n. {Speaking}.] [OE. speken, AS. specan, sprecan; akin to OF.ries. spreka, D. spreken, OS. spreken, G. sprechen, OHG. sprehhan, and perhaps to Skr. sph[=u]rj to crackle, to thunder. Cf. {Spark} of fire, {Speech}.]
1. To utter words or articulate sounds, as human beings; to express thoughts by words; as, the organs may be so obstructed that a man may not be able to speak.
Till at the last spake in this manner. --Chaucer.
Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. --1 Sam. iii. 9.
2. To express opinions; to say; to talk; to converse.
That fluid substance in a few minutes begins to set, as the tradesmen speak. --Boyle.
An honest man, is able to speak for himself, when a knave is not. --Shak.
During the century and a half which followed the Conquest, there is, to speak strictly, no English history. --Macaulay.
3. To utter a speech, discourse, or harangue; to adress a public assembly formally.
Many of the nobility made themselves popular by speaking in Parliament against those things which were most grateful to his majesty. --Clarendon.
4. To discourse; to make mention; to tell.
Lycan speaks of a part of C[ae]sar's army that came to him from the Leman Lake. --Addison.
Make all our trumpets speak. --Shak.
6. To convey sentiments, ideas, or intelligence as if by utterance; as, features that speak of self-will.
Thine eye begins to speak. --Shak.
{To speak of}, to take account of, to make mention of. --Robynson (More's Utopia).
{To speak out}, to speak loudly and distinctly; also, to speak unreservedly.
{To speak well for}, to commend; to be favorable to.
{To speak with}, to converse with. ''Would you speak with me?'' --Shak.
Syn: To say; tell; talk; converse; discourse; articulate; pronounce; utter.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Speak \Speak\, verb (used with an object)
1. To utter with the mouth; to pronounce; to utter articulately, as human beings.
They sat down with him upn ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him. --Job. ii. 13.
2. To utter in a word or words; to say; to tell; to declare orally; as, to speak the truth; to speak sense.
3. To declare; to proclaim; to publish; to make known; to exhibit; to express in any way.
It is my father;s muste To speak your deeds. --Shak.
Speaking a still good morrow with her eyes. --Tennyson.
And for the heaven's wide circuit, let it speak The maker's high magnificence. --Milton.
Report speaks you a bonny monk. --Sir W. Scott.
4. To talk or converse in; to utter or pronounce, as in conversation; as, to speak Latin.
And French she spake full fair and fetisely. --Chaucer.
5. To address; to accost; to speak to.
[He will] thee in hope; he will speak thee fair. --Ecclus. xiii. 6.
each village senior paused to scan And speak the lovely caravan. --Emerson.
{To speak a ship} (Naut.), to hail and speak to her captain or commander.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
verb
1: express in speech; "She talks a lot of nonsense"; "This depressed patient does not verbalize" [syn: {talk}, {utter}, {mouth}, {verbalize}, {verbalise}]
2: exchange thoughts; talk with; "We often talk business"; "Actions talk louder than words" [syn: {talk}]
3: use language; "the baby talks already"; "the prisoner won't speak"; "they speak a strange dialect" [syn: {talk}]
4: give a speech to; "The chairman addressed the board of trustees" [syn: {address}]
5: make a characteristic or natural sound; "The drums spoke" [also: {spoken}, {spoke}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
256 Moby Thesaurus words for "speak": accost, acquaint, act for, address, admonish, advert to, advertise, advertise of, advise, affect, affirm, allege, allude to, announce, annunciate, apostrophize, appeal to, apprise, approach, argue, articulate, as it were, ask for, assert, assever, asseverate, aver, avouch, avow, bandy words, be in connection, be in contact, beat the drum, beg, bespeak, bespoke, betoken, blurt, blurt out, break silence, brief, bring word, buttonhole, call attention to, call to, cant, chatter, chew the fat, chew the rag, chin, chosen, colloque, colloquialize, colloquize, come out, comment, commerce with, commune with, communicate, communicate with, confab, confabulate, contend, converse, converse with, convey, deal with, declaim, declare, defend, deliver an address, demand, descant, dilate, dip, dip the ensign, disclose, discourse, discourse with, discuss, drawl, dress ship, emit a sound, engaged, enlighten, enunciate, examine, exchange colors, exclaim, expatiate, express, familiarize, figuratively speaking, flag, flag down, flash, gab, gasp, give a signal, give a talk, give notice, give the facts, give the nod, give voice, give word, glance, greet, hail, hail and speak, half-mast, halloo, have, have dealings with, have intercourse, have truck with, hoist a banner, hold, hold communication, indicate, influence, inform, insist, instruct, interchange, intercommunicate, interject, invoke, issue a manifesto, jargon, jargonize, kick, lay down, leave word, lecture, leer, let drop, let fall, let know, maintain, make a noise, make a sign, make a signal, make a sound, make known, make oneself heard, make reference to, manifesto, mention, mention to, mouth, mumble, murmur, muse, mutter, nod, noise, note, notify, nudge, observe, opine, patter, perorate, platform, plead for, poke, profess, pronounce, protest, put, put it, raise a cry, rebuke, recommend, refer to, reflect, remark, report, represent, reprimand, reprove, request, require, reserved, resound, reveal, salute, say, scold, selected, send word, serve notice, set aside, set down, shoot the breeze, shout, sign, signal, signalize, signify, so to speak, soapbox, sound, sound an alarm, sound the trumpet, speak fair, speak for, speak for itself, speak out, speak to, speak up, speak with, speechify, splutter, spout, stand for, stand on, stand up for, state, stick up for, stump, submit, support, symbolize, take a stand, take aside, take counsel with, take the floor, take the stump, talk, talk about, talk to, talk together, tell, touch, touch on, touch upon, traffic with, treat of, unfurl a flag, uphold, use, use language, utter, verbalize, verse, visit with, vocalize, voice, wag the tongue, warn, wave, wave a flag, wave the hand, whisper, wink
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0