so to speak
verb (used without object)
1.
to utter words or articulate sounds with the ordinary voice; talk: He was too ill to speak.
2.
to communicate vocally; mention: to speak to a person of various matters.
3.
to converse: She spoke with him for an hour.
4.
to deliver an address, discourse, etc.: to speak at a meeting.
5.
to make a statement in written or printed words.
6.
to communicate, signify, or disclose by any means; convey significance.
7.
Phonetics. to produce sounds or audible sequences of individual or concatenated sounds of a language, especially through phonation, amplification, and resonance, and through any of a variety of articulatory processes.
8.
(of a computer) to express data or other information audibly by means of an audio response unit.
9.
to emit a sound, as a musical instrument; make a noise or report.
10.
Chiefly British. (of dogs) to bark when ordered.
11.
Fox Hunting. (of a hound or pack) to bay on finding a scent.
verb (used with object)
12.
to utter vocally and articulately: to speak words of praise.
13.
to express or make known with the voice: to speak the truth.
14.
to declare in writing or printing, or by any means of communication.
15.
to make known, indicate, or reveal.
16.
to use, or be able to use, in oral utterance, as a language: to speak French.
00:10
So to speak
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
20.
speak for,
a.
to intercede for or recommend; speak in behalf of.
b.
to express or articulate the views of; represent.
c.
to choose or prefer; have reserved for oneself: This item is already spoken for.
21.
Idioms speak out, to express one's opinion openly and unreservedly: He was not afraid to speak out when it was something he believed in strongly.
22.
so to speak, to use a manner of speaking; figuratively speaking: We still don't have our heads above water, so to speak.
23.
speak by the book, to say with great authority or precision: I can't speak by the book, but I know this is wrong.
24.
speak well for, to be an indication or reflection of (something commendable); testify admirably to: Her manners speak well for her upbringing.
25.
to speak of, worth mentioning: The country has no mineral resources to speak of.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English speken, Old English specan, variant of sprecan; cognate with German sprechen (Old High German sprehhan; compare variant spehhan)
before 900; Middle English speken, Old English specan, variant of sprecan; cognate with German sprechen (Old High German sprehhan; compare variant spehhan)
Related forms
speak·a·ble, adjective
speak·a·ble·ness, noun
speak·a·bly, adverb
Synonyms
1. Speak, converse, talk mean to make vocal sounds, usually for purposes of communication. To speak often implies conveying information and may apply to anything from an informal remark to a scholarly presentation to a formal address: to speak sharply; to speak before Congress. To converse is to exchange ideas with someone by speaking: to converse with a friend. To talk is a close synonym for to speak but usually refers to less formal situations: to talk about the weather; to talk with a friend. 12. pronounce, articulate. 13. say. 15. disclose.
1. Speak, converse, talk mean to make vocal sounds, usually for purposes of communication. To speak often implies conveying information and may apply to anything from an informal remark to a scholarly presentation to a formal address: to speak sharply; to speak before Congress. To converse is to exchange ideas with someone by speaking: to converse with a friend. To talk is a close synonym for to speak but usually refers to less formal situations: to talk about the weather; to talk with a friend. 12. pronounce, articulate. 13. say. 15. disclose.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To so to speak
Collins
World English Dictionary
speak (spiːk) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (foll by for) , speaks, speaking, spoke, spoken | |
| 1. | to make (verbal utterances); utter (words) |
| 2. | to communicate or express (something) in or as if in words: I speak the truth |
| 3. | (intr) to deliver a speech, discourse, etc |
| 4. | (tr) to know how to talk in (a language or dialect): he does not speak German |
| 5. | (intr) to make a characteristic sound: the clock spoke |
| 6. | (intr) (of dogs, esp hounds used in hunting) to give tongue; bark |
| 7. | (tr) nautical to hail and converse or communicate with (another vessel) at sea |
| 8. | (intr) (of a musical instrument) to produce a sound |
| 9. | to be a representative or advocate (of): he speaks for all the members |
| 10. | on speaking terms on good terms; friendly |
| 11. | so to speak in a manner of speaking; as it were |
| 12. | speak one's mind to express one's opinions frankly and plainly |
| 13. | to speak of of a significant or worthwhile nature: we have had no support to speak of |
| [Old English specan; related to Old High German spehhan, Middle High German spechten to gossip, Middle Dutch speken; see | |
| 'speakable | |
| —adj | |
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
speak
O.E. specan, variant of sprecan "to speak" (class V strong verb; past tense spræc, pp. sprecen), from P.Gmc. *sprekanan (cf. O.S. sprecan, O.Fris. spreka, M.Du. spreken, O.H.G. sprehhan, Ger. sprechen "to speak," O.N. spraki "rumor, report"), cognate with L. spargere "to strew" (speech as a "scattering"
of words; see sparse). The -r- began to drop out in Late West Saxon and was gone by mid-12c., perhaps from infl. of Dan. spage "crackle," in a slang sense of "speak" (cf. crack in slang senses having to do with speech, e.g. wisecrack, cracker, all it's cracked up to be). Rare variant forms without -r- also are found in M.Du. (speken) and O.H.G. (spehhan). Not the primary word for "to speak" in O.E. ("Beowulf" prefers maþelian, from mæþel "assembly, council," from root of metan "to meet;" cf. Gk. agoreuo "to speak," originally "speak in the assembly," from agora "assembly").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
so to speak
Phrased like this, in a manner of speaking, as in He was, so to speak, the head of the family, although he was only related by marriage to most of the family members. This term originally meant "in the vernacular" or "lower-class language" and was used as an aristocrat's apology for stooping to such use. [Early 1800s] Also see as it were.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
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