Etymology

speechless

S1P3E1E1C3H4L1E1S1S1

Today it means: Not speaking; not knowing what to say; silent, especially due to surprise, amazement, etc.; wordless. Full definition →

Middle English specheles ← Old English sprǣċlēas ← Proto-Germanic *sprēkalausaz
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*sprēkalausaz
  2. Old English · inherited fromsprǣċlēas“speechless; without the power of speak”
  3. Middle English · inherited fromspecheles
  4. English todayspeechless

From Middle English specheles, from Old English sprǣċlēas (“speechless; without the power of speak”), from Proto-Germanic *sprēkalausaz, equivalent to speech + -less. Cognate with West Frisian sprakeleas (“speechless”), Dutch sprakeloos (“speechless”), German Low German spraaklos (“speechless”), German sprachlos (“speechless”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.