Etymology

bespeak

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Today it means: To speak about; tell of; relate; discuss. Full definition →

Middle English bespeken ← Old English *bespecan ← Proto-West Germanic *bisprekan
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*bisprekaną“to speak about, discuss, blame”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*bisprekan“to discuss, blame”
  3. Old English · inherited from*bespecan
  4. Middle English · inherited frombespeken
  5. English todaybespeak

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”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.