Nearby Words
verb (used with object), be·spoke or (Archaic) be·spake; be·spo·ken or be·spoke; be·speak·ing.
1.
to ask for in advance: to bespeak the reader's patience.
2.
to reserve beforehand; engage in advance; make arrangements for: to bespeak a seat in a theater.
3.
Literary. to speak to; address.
4.
to show; indicate: This bespeaks a kindly heart.
5.
Obsolete. to foretell; forebode.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To BESPEAK
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Bespeak
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bespeak
O.E. besprecan "speak about, speak against, complain," from be- + 'sprecan "to speak" (see speak). A common Germanic compound (cf. O.S. bisprecan, Du. bespreken, O.H.G. bisprehhan, Ger. besprechen); originally "to call out," it evolved a wide
EXPANDrange of meaning in English, including "speak up," "oppose," "request," "discuss, "arrange," and "to order (goods)" (1580s).
COLLAPSE
"The connection of the senses is very loose; some of them appear to have arisen quite independently of each other from different applications of BE- pref." [OED]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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