speken

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English specan, from the earlier sprecan, from Proto-Germanic *sprekaną.

Verb

speken (third-person singular simple present speketh, present participle spekinge, first-/third-person singular past indicative spak, past participle speken)

1. to speak (communicate using the voice)

   • a. 1382, John Wycliffe, “Psalms 108:1-3”, in Wycliffe's Bible:

     The title of the hundrid and eiȝtthe ſalm. To victorye, the ſalm of Dauid. / God, holde thou not ſtille my preiſyng; for the mouth of the ſynner, and the mouth of the gileful man is openyd on me. / Thei ſpaken ayens me with a gileful tunge, and thei cumpassiden me with wordis of hatrede; and fouȝten ayens me with out cauſe.

     The title of the one hundred and eighth psalm: "To Victory; the Psalm of David"/ / God; don't hold still my praising, as the mouths of the sinners and the mouths of the guilty have opened against me. / They spoke against me with a guilty tongue, they acted against me with words of hatred, and they fought against me without justification.

   • 14^th Century, Chaucer, General Prologue

     And whan that he wel dronken hadde the wyn,
     Than wolde he speke no word but Latyn.

     And when he had drunk all the wine
     He would not speak a word other than Latin

Conjugation

Conjugation of speken (strong class 5)

infinitive	(to) speken
indicative	present	past
1st person singular	speke	spak(e)
2nd person singular	spekest	spakest
3rd person singular	spekeþ	spak(e)
plural	spekeþ, speken	spaken
subjunctive	present	past
singular	speke	spake
plural	speken	spaken
imperative	present
singular	speke, speek
plural	spekeþ
participle	present	past
	spekende, spekinge	(y)speken

Derived terms

• mysspeken

Descendants

• English: speak
• Scots: speke, speik