Where does “spake” come from?
Spake comes from Middle English spake, from Old English spāca, from Proto-Germanic sprēkijō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European spereg-, meaning to speak or scatter words.
spake (English): Quiet; tame; Ready; prompt; simple past tense of...
Definitions
- Quiet; tame; Ready; prompt; simple past tense of...
Ancestry of “spake”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | spake | Alternative form of spoke |
| 2 | Old Norse | spakr | quiet, gentle; wise, with the notion of prophetic... |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | spakaz | wise, clever |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | speḱ- | to see, to look, to observe |
Words derived from “spake”