forspeak
/fɔːˈspiːk/
"forspeak" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“forspeak” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To injure or cause bad luck through immoderate praise or flattery; to affect with the curse of an evil tongue, which brings ill luck upon all objects of its praise.
Corpus desk
Index EN-forspeak · forspeak · English
forspeak · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | forspeak |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /fɔːˈspiːk/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “forspeak” in English
Rare enough to double-check
forspeak is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /fɔːˈspiːk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
forspeak has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English forspeken (“to bewitch”), from Old English forspecan, forsprecan (“to speak in vain; to speak amiss; to denounce; to deny”); analysable as for- + speak. The correct English form is forspeak, spelled F-O-R-S-P-E-A-K.
Definition
- 1To injure or cause bad luck through immoderate praise or flattery; to affect with the curse of an evil tongue, which brings ill luck upon all objects of its praise.
- 2To bewitch, to charm.
- 3To forbid, to prohibit; to oppose.
- 4To say bad things about; to slander.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how forspeak appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
One is said to forspeak another, when he so commends him as to have a supposed influence in making him practically belie the commendation. If one highly praises a child for sweetness of temper, and the child soon after betrays ill humour; the person, who bestowed the praise, is said to have forspokin the bairn.
"I take ye a' to witness, gude people," said Mortheugh, "that she threatens me wi' mischief, and forespeaks me. If onything but gude happens to me or my fiddle this night, I'll make it the blackest night's job she ever stirred in. [...]"
Etymology
From Middle English forspeken (“to bewitch”), from Old English forspecan, forsprecan (“to speak in vain; to speak amiss; to denounce; to deny”); analysable as for- + speak.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.