Meanings
speight1
plural speights · alternative specht · alternative spekt · alternative spight
- dialectalobsoleteA woodpecker.
Speight2
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
speight · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)peyk-“a kind of bird, woodpecker, magpie”
- Proto-Germanic*spihtaz
- Proto-West Germanic*spiht
- Old English*spiht
- Northern Middle Englishspecht“woodpecker”
- Englishspeight
From late Northern Middle English specht (“woodpecker”), from Old English *spiht, *speoht, from Proto-West Germanic *spiht, *speht, from Proto-Germanic *spihtaz, *spehtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“a kind of bird, woodpecker, magpie”). Traditionally considered to be borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German, but this is rendered problematic by the mention of Spehtesberie in Domesday (Middle English Speghtesbury, Spettesbury; modern Spettisbury). Compare Dutch specht (“woodpecker”), German Specht (“woodpecker”), Danish spætte (“woodpecker”), Latin pīcus (“woodpecker”). Displaced by woodpecker.
More words from Northern Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Speight · proper noun
English surname, from the noun speight (“woodpecker”).
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with speight
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
speight. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speight
“speight.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speight. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “speight,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speight.
Source: speight on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.