speechify en · VERB
Pronunciation
- /ˈspiːt͡ʃɪfaɪ/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *sprākī Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Germanic *-ō Proto-West Germanic *-u Proto-West Germanic *sprāku Old English sprǣċ Old English spǣċ Middle English speche English speech Latin -i- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *θakos Proto-Italic *-fakos Latin -ficus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin -ficō Latin -ificāreder. Old French -ifierbor. Middle English -ifien English -ify English speechify From speech + -ify.
Meanings
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(intransitive) To give a speech; to hold forth; (now especially) to pronounce pompously or at length.
He never missed a chance of speechifying in public.
1985, Lawrence Durrell, Quinx (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 1351:Caleb was a powerful man and knew little of any fear except the fear of hurting others and the fear of having to speechify.
1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter LVI, in Middlemarch […], volume III, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book VI, page 238:Rodey McQueen speechified elegantly about the necessity for harmony.
2013, John Nichols, The Magic Journey: A Novel, Holt Paperbacks, →ISBN, page 20:The home minister, Admiral Suetsugu, speechified grandly of a Japanese eminent domain beyond the seas, of a “moral purification drive” in the home islands.
2007, James Brady, Warning of War: A Novel of the North China Marines, Macmillan, →ISBN:
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(obsolete, possibly, transitive) To make speeches to (someone); to address in a speech.
They take their little enjoyments on little means and with little things and don't let solemn big-wigs stare them out of countenance or speechify them dull.
1864, Charles Dickens, chapter 2, in Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| speechifies | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| speechified | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| speechified | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| speechifying | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
Translations (3)
ru ора́торствовать (Translations) · es perorar (Translations) · es discursear (Translations)