Added 8 October 2026
speech
/spiːt͡ʃ/ noun
In Latin: dictiō, locutio, eloquium Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about speech at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
The ability to speak; the faculty of uttering words or articulate sounds and vocalizations to communicate.
He had a bad speech impediment.
-
The act of speaking, a certain style of it.
It was hard to hear his speech over the noise.
-
A formal session of speaking, especially a long oral message given publicly by one person.
The candidate made some ambitious promises in his campaign speech.
verb
- To make (a speech); to harangue.
Origin
From Middle English speche, from Old English spǣċ, sprǣċ (“speech, discourse, language”), from Proto-West Germanic *sprāku (“speech, language”), from Proto-Indo-European *spereg-, *spreg- (“to make a sound”). Cognate with Dutch spraak (“speech”), German Sprache (“language, speech”). More at speak.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)