talk
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation, MLE) enPR: tôk IPA(key): /tɔːk/
- (US) IPA(key): /tɔk/
- (cot–caught merger, Northern Cities Vowel Shift) enPR: tŏk IPA(key): /tɑk/, [tɑk], [täk], [tak]
- (AAVE) IPA(key): /tɔʊ̯k/
- (General Australian, New Zealand, MLE) IPA(key): /toːk/
Audio (UK) – to talk (file) Audio (US) (cot-caught merged) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔːk
- Homophones: torc, torq, torque (non-rhotic accents only), tock (in accents with the cot-caught merger)
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle English talken, talkien, from Old English tealcian (“to talk, chat”), from Proto-Germanic *talkōną (“to talk, chatter”), frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *talōną (“to count, recount, tell”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, count”), equivalent to tell + -k. Cognate with Scots talk (“to talk”), Low German taalken (“to talk”). Related also to Danish tale (“to talk, speak”), Swedish tala (“to talk, speak, say, chatter”), Icelandic tala (“to talk”), Norwegian tale (“speech”), Old English talian (“to count, calculate, reckon, account, consider, think, esteem, value; argue; tell, relate; impute, assign”). More at tale. Despite the surface similarity, unrelated to Proto-Indo-European *telkʷ- (“to talk”), which is the source of loquacious.
Alternative forms[edit]
- taulke (obsolete)
Verb[edit]
talk (third-person singular simple present talks, present participle talking, simple past and past participle talked)
- (intransitive) To communicate, usually by means of speech.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 166:
- I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk with you, and so following, but I will not eat with you.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 4, in Mr. Pratt's Patients, page 99:
- Then he commenced to talk, really talk. and inside of two flaps of a herring's fin he had me mesmerized, like Eben Holt's boy at the town hall show. He talked about the ills of humanity, and the glories of health and Nature and service and land knows what all. […] It was a chance he was offering me, a wonderful, eighteen carat, solid gold chance.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess[1]:
- Mr. Campion appeared suitably impressed and she warmed to him. He was very easy to talk to with those long clown lines in his pale face, a natural goon, born rather too early she suspected.
- 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
- Let’s go to my office and talk. ― I like to talk with you, Ms. Weaver.
Audio (US) (file)
- Let’s go to my office and talk. ― I like to talk with you, Ms. Weaver.
- Let's sit down and talk.
- Although I don't speak Chinese I managed to talk with the villagers using signs and gestures.
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 203:
- “ […] They talk of you as if you were Croesus—and I expect the beggars sponge on you unconscionably.” And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes.
- (transitive, informal) To discuss; to talk about.
- They sat down to talk business.
- That's enough about work, let's talk holidays!
- (transitive) To speak (a certain language).
- We talk French sometimes.
- (transitive, informal, chiefly used in progressive tenses) Used to emphasise the importance, size, complexity etc. of the thing mentioned.
- Are you interested in the job? They're talking big money.
- We're not talking rocket science here: it should be easy.
- (intransitive, slang) To confess, especially implicating others.
- Suppose he talks?
- She can be relied upon not to talk.
- They tried to make me talk.
- (intransitive) To criticize someone for something of which one is guilty oneself.
- I am not the one to talk.
- She is a fine one to talk.
- You should talk.
- Look who's talking.
- (intransitive) To gossip; to create scandal.
- People will talk.
- Aren't you afraid the neighbours will talk?
- (informal, chiefly used in progressive tenses) To influence someone to express something, especially a particular stance or viewpoint or in a particular manner.
- You're only sticking up for her because you like her; that's your penis talking.
- That's not like you at all, Jared. The drugs are talking. Snap out of it!
Conjugation[edit]
infinitive | (to) talk | ||
---|---|---|---|
present tense | past tense | ||
1st-person singular | talk | talked | |
2nd-person singular | talk, talkest† | talked, talkedst† | |
3rd-person singular | talks, talketh† | talked | |
plural | talk | ||
subjunctive | talk | talked | |
imperative | talk | — | |
participles | talking | talked |
Synonyms[edit]
- See Thesaurus:talk
Coordinate terms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
- bad-talk
- betalk
- double-talk
- fast-talk
- look who's talking
- now you're talking
- sleep-talk
- sweet-talk
- talk a blue streak
- talk a good game
- talk a mile a minute
- talk about
- talk around
- talk back
- talk cock
- talk dirty
- talk down
- talk in circles
- talk into
- talk like a book
- talk like an apothecary
- talk of
- talk of the devil
- talk one's way out of
- talk out of turn
- talk over
- talk past
- talk sense
- talk shit, talk shite
- talk shop
- talk smack
- talk someone under the table
- talk someone's ear off
- talk the talk
- talk through one's hat
- talk to
- talk to the hand
- talk trash
- talk turkey
- talk up
- talkative
- talker
- talky
- trash-talk
- you can talk
Translations[edit]
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Etymology 2[edit]
From Middle English talk, talke (“conversation; discourse”), from the verb (see above).
Noun[edit]
talk (countable and uncountable, plural talks)
- A conversation or discussion; usually serious, but informal.
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, pages 198–199:
- All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill. […] Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connection—or rather as a transition from the subject that started their conversation—such talk had been distressingly out of place.
- We need to have a talk about your homework.
- A lecture.
- There is a talk on Shakespeare tonight.
- (uncountable) Gossip; rumour.
- There's been talk lately about the two of them.
- (preceded by the; often qualified by a following of) A major topic of social discussion.
- She is the talk of the day.
- The musical is the talk of the town.
- (preceded by the) A customary conversation by parent(s) or guardian(s) with their (often teenaged) child about a reality of life; in particular:
- A customary conversation in which parent(s) explain sexual intercourse to their child.
- Have you had the talk with Jay yet?
- (US) A customary conversation in which the parent(s) of a black child explain the racism and violence they may face, especially when interacting with police, and strategies to manage it.
- 2012, Crystal McCrary, Inspiration: Profiles of Black Women Changing Our World, →ISBN:
- Later, I made sure to have the talk with my son about being a black boy, […]
- 2016, Jim Wallis, America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge, →ISBN:
- The Talk
All the black parents I have ever spoken to have had “the talk” with their sons and daughters. “The talk” is a conversation about how to behave and not to behave with police.
- 2016, Stuart Scott; Larry Platt, Every Day I Fight, →ISBN, page 36:
- Now, I was a black man in the South, and my folks had had “the talk” with me. No, not the one about the birds and bees. This one is about the black man and the police.
- A customary conversation in which parent(s) explain sexual intercourse to their child.
- (uncountable, not preceded by an article) Empty boasting, promises or claims.
- The party leader's speech was all talk.
- (usually in the plural) Meeting to discuss a particular matter.
- The leaders of the G8 nations are currently in talks over nuclear weapons.
Synonyms[edit]
- See also Thesaurus:talk
- (meeting): conference, debate, discussion, meeting
Derived terms[edit]
- all talk
- baby talk
- betalk
- big talk
- boy talk
- chalk talk/chalk and talk
- coffee talk
- cross talk/crosstalk
- dirty talk
- girl talk
- happy talk
- idle talk
- man talk
- peace talk
- pep talk
- pillow talk
- self-talk
- shop talk
- side talk
- sleep talk
- small talk
- stack talk
- table talk
- talk battery
- talk bomb
- talk is cheap
- talk of the town
- talk page
- talk radio
- talk show
- talk the talk
- talkback
- talkie
- talksome
- uptalk, uptalking (noun)
- walk and talk
- walk the talk
- walkie-talkie
Translations[edit]
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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Related terms[edit]
Chinese[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
talk
Verb[edit]
talk
- (Hong Kong Cantonese) to talk (especially a lot)
References[edit]
Danish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Via French talc or German Talk, from Persian طلق (talq).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
talk c (singular definite talken, not used in plural form)
- talc (a soft, fine-grained mineral used in talcum powder)
Related terms[edit]
Dutch[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (file)
Etymology 1[edit]
Noun[edit]
talk m (uncountable)
- talc (soft, fine-grained mineral used in talcum powder)
Descendants[edit]
- → Indonesian: talk
Etymology 2[edit]
From Middle Dutch talch, from Old Dutch *talg, from Proto-Germanic *talgaz. More at English tallow.
Noun[edit]
talk c (uncountable)
- Alternative form of talg (“tallow”)
Descendants[edit]
- Negerhollands: talk
Anagrams[edit]
Hawaiian Creole[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Verb[edit]
talk
- to talk, speak
- You talk Pidgin?
- Do you speak Pidgin?
Indonesian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Dutch talk, from Middle French talc, from Arabic طَلْق (ṭalq), from Persian تلک (talk).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
talk (first-person possessive talkku, second-person possessive talkmu, third-person possessive talknya)
Alternative forms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “talk” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Polish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Medieval Latin talcum, from Arabic طَلْق (ṭalq), from Persian تلک (talk).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
talk m inan
- (mineralogy) talc (soft mineral)
- talc, talcum powder
Declension[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
- talkować impf
Further reading[edit]
- talk in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- talk in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Swedish[edit]
Noun[edit]
talk c
- talc (a soft, fine-grained mineral used in talcum powder)
Declension[edit]
Declension of talk | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Uncountable | ||||
Indefinite | Definite | |||
Nominative | talk | talken | — | — |
Genitive | talks | talkens | — | — |
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɔːk
- Rhymes:English/ɔːk/1 syllable
- English terms with homophones
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- English transitive verbs
- English informal terms
- English slang
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- American English
- en:Talking
- Cantonese terms borrowed from English
- Cantonese terms derived from English
- Chinese lemmas
- Cantonese lemmas
- Chinese nouns
- Cantonese nouns
- Chinese verbs
- Cantonese verbs
- Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Hong Kong Cantonese
- Cantonese terms with collocations
- Chinese terms written in foreign scripts
- Danish terms derived from Persian
- Danish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- Danish common-gender nouns
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch uncountable nouns
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch common-gender nouns
- Hawaiian Creole terms borrowed from English
- Hawaiian Creole terms derived from English
- Hawaiian Creole lemmas
- Hawaiian Creole verbs
- Hawaiian Creole terms with usage examples
- Indonesian terms borrowed from Dutch
- Indonesian terms derived from Dutch
- Indonesian terms derived from Middle French
- Indonesian terms derived from Arabic
- Indonesian terms derived from Persian
- Indonesian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Indonesian lemmas
- Indonesian nouns
- Indonesian uncountable nouns
- Polish terms borrowed from Medieval Latin
- Polish terms derived from Medieval Latin
- Polish terms derived from Arabic
- Polish terms derived from Persian
- Polish 1-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Polish/alk
- Rhymes:Polish/alk/1 syllable
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish masculine nouns
- Polish inanimate nouns
- pl:Minerals
- Polish singularia tantum
- pl:Toiletries
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns
- sv:Mineralogy