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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

bespeak.

To speak about; tell of; relate; discuss.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/bɪˈspiːk/
  1. To speak about; tell of; relate; discuss.

    archaic · formal · transitive
  2. To speak for beforehand; engage in advance; make arrangements for; order, commission, reserve or arrange for something to be made in advance.

    dated · transitive
  3. To stipulate, solicit, ask for, or request, as in a favour.

    transitive
    to bespeak a calm hearing
    I bespeak your patience in advance.
  4. To forbode; foretell.

    archaic · transitive
  5. To speak to; address.

    archaic · poetic · transitive
  6. To betoken; show; indicate; depict; foretell; suggest; allude to.

    transitive
    This act bespeaks his kindness.
  7. To speak up or out; exclaim; speak.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English bespeken, bispeken, from Old English *bespecan, besprecan (“to speak about, speak against, accuse of, claim at law, complain”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisprekan (“to discuss, blame”), from Proto-Germanic *bisprekaną (“to speak about, discuss, blame”), equivalent to be- + speak. Cognate with Scots bespeke (“to beseech, speak or negotiate with”), Saterland Frisian bispreke (“to discuss”), West Frisian besprekke (“to discuss”), Dutch bespreken (“to discuss, review, debate”), German besprechen (“to discuss, review, talk about”).

noun/bɪˈspiːk/
  1. A request for a specific performance; a benefit performance, by a patron.

    archaic
Where this word comes from

From Middle English bespeken, bispeken, from Old English *bespecan, besprecan (“to speak about, speak against, accuse of, claim at law, complain”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisprekan (“to discuss, blame”), from Proto-Germanic *bisprekaną (“to speak about, discuss, blame”), equivalent to be- + speak. Cognate with Scots bespeke (“to beseech, speak or negotiate with”), Saterland Frisian bispreke (“to discuss”), West Frisian besprekke (“to discuss”), Dutch bespreken (“to discuss, review, debate”), German besprechen (“to discuss, review, talk about”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.