Where does “speak” come from?
Speak comes from Middle English speken, from Old English specan and sprecan, from Proto-Germanic sprekaną, from Proto-Indo-European spreg-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)per-.
speak (English): To communicate with one's voice, to say words out...
Definitions
- To communicate with one's voice, to say words out...
Ancestry of “speak”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | speke | — |
| 2 | Old English | specan | Alternative form of sprecan; to speak |
| 3 | Old English | sprecan | to speak, talk |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *sprekan | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sprekaną | to speak, to make a noise |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | spreg- | to make a sound, speak; to make a sound, utter,... |
Words derived from “speak”