speech
/spiːt͡ʃ/noun, verb
speech is spelled S-P-E-E-C-H: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 71 times per million words in written English, the 1,486th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, speech means “The ability to speak; the faculty of uttering words or articulate sounds and vocalizations to communicate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of speech is speeches.
How many letters and syllables are in speech?
| Letters | 6: S-P-E-E-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 71 times per million words; the 1,486th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is speech?
Speech appears 71 times per million words in written English, the 1,486th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce speech?
- /spiːt͡ʃ/
- /spɛːt͡ʃ/
Speech has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-speech.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of speech
- speeches plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- speeching participle, present
- speeched participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does speech mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The ability to speak; the faculty of uttering words or articulate sounds and vocalizations to communicate.
He had a bad speech impediment.
- 2
The act of speaking, a certain style of it.
It was hard to hear his speech over the noise.
- 3
A formal session of speaking, especially a long oral message given publicly by one person.
The candidate made some ambitious promises in his campaign speech.
- 4
A dialect, vernacular, or (dated) a language.
- 5
Language used orally, rather than in writing.
This word is mostly used in speech.
- 6
An utterance that is quoted; see direct speech, reported speech
- 7
Public talk, news, gossip, rumour.
verb
- 1
To make (a speech); to harangue.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Speech in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | parole , discours |
| German | Sprache , Rede, Ansprache |
| Portuguese | fala , discurso |
| Spanish | habla, fabla , discurso, alocución, prédica, soflama |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does speech come from?
From Middle English speche, from Old English spǣċ, sprǣċ (“speech, discourse, language”), from Proto-West Germanic *sprāku (“speech, language”), from Proto-Indo-European *spereg-, *spreg- (“to make a sound”). Cognate with Dutch spraak (“speech”), German Sprache (“language, speech”). More at speak.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).