Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “spick” come from?

Spick comes from English spick, whose origin is uncertain but may derive from Old English specan or sprecan, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European roots related to speech and spreading sounds.

spick (English): A Latino/Hispanic person; nail, a spike; tidy;...

Definitions

  1. A Latino/Hispanic person; nail, a spike; tidy;...

Ancestry of “spick”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishspeakTo communicate with one's voice, to say words out...
2Middle Englishspeke—
3Old EnglishspecanAlternative form of sprecan; to speak
4Old Englishsprecanto speak, talk
5Proto-West Germanic*sprekan—
6Proto-Germanicsprekanąto speak, to make a noise
7Proto-Indo-Europeanspreg-to make a sound, speak; to make a sound, utter,...

Words derived from “spick”

  • spick-and-span-new
  • spick-and-span
Every word from Proto-Indo-European spreg- →