To speak is to say words with your voice so that others can hear you. It can also mean to use a particular language or to express ideas in general.
From Old English *specan* or *sprecan* “to speak,” related to German *sprechen* and Dutch *spreken*. It goes back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning “to make a sound, to declare.”
The word *speak* is older than English itself, echoing across Germanic languages for over a thousand years. We now talk about “speaking” through writing, art, or even silence—showing that expression isn’t limited to sound.
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