v. i. [ imp. Spoke Spake mark>Archaic); p. p. Spoken Spoke, Obs. or Colloq.); p. pr. & vb. n. Speaking. ] [ OE. speken, AS. specan, sprecan; akin to OF.ries. spreka, D. spreken, OS. spreken, G. sprechen, OHG. sprehhan, and perhaps to Skr. sphūrj to crackle, to thunder. Cf. Spark of fire, Speech. ] 1. To utter words or articulate sounds, as human beings; to express thoughts by words; as, the organs may be so obstructed that a man may not be able to speak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Till at the last spake in this manner. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. 1 Sam. iii. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To express opinions; to say; to talk; to converse. [ 1913 Webster ]

That fluid substance in a few minutes begins to set, as the tradesmen speak. Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

An honest man, is able to speak for himself, when a knave is not. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

During the century and a half which followed the Conquest, there is, to speak strictly, no English history. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To utter a speech, discourse, or harangue; to adress a public assembly formally. [ 1913 Webster ]

Many of the nobility made themselves popular by speaking in Parliament against those things which were most grateful to his majesty. Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To discourse; to make mention; to tell. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lycan speaks of a part of Caesar's army that came to him from the Leman Lake. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To give sound; to sound. [ 1913 Webster ]

Make all our trumpets speak. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To convey sentiments, ideas, or intelligence as if by utterance; as, features that speak of self-will. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thine eye begins to speak. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To speak of, to take account of, to make mention of. Robynson (More's Utopia). --
To speak out, to speak loudly and distinctly; also, to speak unreservedly. --
To speak well for, to commend; to be favorable to. --
To speak with, to converse with. “Would you speak with me?” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To say; tell; talk; converse; discourse; articulate; pronounce; utter. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To utter with the mouth; to pronounce; to utter articulately, as human beings. [ 1913 Webster ]

They sat down with him upn ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him. Job. ii. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To utter in a word or words; to say; to tell; to declare orally; as, to speak the truth; to speak sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To declare; to proclaim; to publish; to make known; to exhibit; to express in any way. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is my father;s muste
To speak your deeds. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Speaking a still good morrow with her eyes. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

And for the heaven's wide circuit, let it speak
The maker's high magnificence. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Report speaks you a bonny monk. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To talk or converse in; to utter or pronounce, as in conversation; as, to speak Latin. [ 1913 Webster ]

And French she spake full fair and fetisely. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To address; to accost; to speak to. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ He will ] thee in hope; he will speak thee fair. Ecclus. xiii. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

each village senior paused to scan
And speak the lovely caravan. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

To speak a ship (Naut.), to hail and speak to her captain or commander. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Capable of being spoken; fit to be spoken. Ascham. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Able to speak. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. An establishment where alcoholic beverages were sold and drunk illegally, especially one operating during the prohibition era in the U.S. (1920-1932); a tavern or nightclub illegally selling alcoholic beverages. [ PJC ]

n. 1. One who speaks. Specifically: (a) One who utters or pronounces a discourse; usually, one who utters a speech in public; as, the man is a good speaker, or a bad speaker. (b) One who is the mouthpiece of others; especially, one who presides over, or speaks for, a delibrative assembly, preserving order and regulating the debates; as, the Speaker of the House of Commons, originally, the mouthpiece of the House to address the king; the Speaker of a House of Representatives. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A book of selections for declamation. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The office of speaker; as, the speakership of the House of Representatives. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of uttering words. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Public declamation; oratory. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Uttering speech; used for conveying speech; as, man is a speaking animal; a speaking tube. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Seeming to be capable of speech; hence, lifelike; as, a speaking likeness. [ 1913 Webster ]

A speaking acquaintance, a slight acquaintance with a person, or one which merely permits the exchange of salutations and remarks on indifferent subjects. --
Speaking trumpet, an instrument somewhat resembling a trumpet, by which the sound of the human voice may be so intensified as to be conveyed to a great distance. --
Speaking tube, a tube for conveying speech, especially from one room to another at a distance. --
To be on speaking terms, to be slightly acquainted. [ 1913 Webster ]