Etymology Explorer › Italian

Where does “speculate” come from?

speculate (Italian) comes from Italian speculare, from Latin speculor, from Latin specula, from Latin spes, from Proto-Italic spēs, from Proto-Indo-European spéh₁s, from Proto-Indo-European speh₁- — to succeed, to prosper.

speculate (Italian): second-person plural present indicative of...

Definitions

  1. second-person plural present indicative of...

Ancestry of “speculate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianspecularemirror , specular; To speculate
2LatinspeculorI watch, I observe; I examine, I explore; I spy
3Latinspeculawatchtower, lookout; nominative plural of...
4Latinspeshope; expectation, anticipation, apprehension
5Proto-Italicspēshope
6Proto-Indo-Europeanspéh₁sprosperity, success
7Proto-Indo-Europeanspeh₁-to succeed, to prosper
Every word from Proto-Indo-European speh₁- →