spak

See also: Späk

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English spræc, spæc (“spoke (past tense of speak)”)

Verb

spak

  1. past tense of speak

Etymology 2

From Old English spāca (“spoke (support surrounding the centre of a wheel)”).

Noun

spak

  1. Alternative form of spoke

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

spak m (definite singular spaken, indefinite plural spaker, definite plural spakene)

  1. a lever

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

spak m (definite singular spaken, indefinite plural spakar, definite plural spakane)

  1. a lever

Derived terms

References

Scots

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [spak]

Verb

spak

  1. simple past tense of speak
    • 1806, Walter Scott, Minstrelsy of the Scottish border (3rd ed) (1 of 3)‎:
      Then spak the lord, hight Hamilton, And to the nobil king said he, "My sovereign prince, sum counsell take, First at your nobilis, syne at me.
    • 1905, Robert Louis Stevenson, David Balfour, Second Part‎:
      But whan he spak, it was mair in sorrow than in anger.
    • 1898, Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr, Scottish sketches‎:
      And I'll do this messenger justice; he laid down no law to me, he only spak o' the duty laid on his own conscience; but my conscience said 'Amen' to his--that's about it.
    • 1896, Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, Adventures in Criticism‎:
      Ful wel she song the service divyne, Entuned in hir nose ful semely; And Frensh she spak ful faire and fetisly, After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe, For Frensh of Paris was to hir unknowe..."
    • 1919, Frederic Moorman, More Tales of the Ridings‎:
      Them was t' truest words he iver spak, an' shoo would hae been muck-cheap if I'd gien a million pund for her."
    • 1857, Various, The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume IV.‎:
      I went unto her mother, and I argued and I fleech'd, I spak o' love and honesty, and mair and mair beseech'd; But she was deaf to a' my grief, she wadna look on me; O poverty!
    • 1904, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Merry Men‎:
      Het as he was, he took a kind o' cauld grue in the marrow o' his banes; but up he spak for a' that; an' says he: 'My friend, are you a stranger in this place?'

Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Swedish spaker (“wise, clever”).

Adjective

spak (comparative spakare, superlative spakast)

  1. powerless, tired, obedient, tame, calm, easy, reasonable; of a person or animal that used to resist, but has given up the fight; of calm water
    spak som ett lamm
    tame as a lamb
Declension
Inflection of spak
Indefinite Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular spak spakare spakast
Neuter singular spakt spakare spakast
Plural spaka spakare spakast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 spake spakare spakaste
All spaka spakare spakaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
Synonyms
  • foglig
  • kuvad
  • medgörlig
  • spakhet
  • spakna
  • spakvatten

Etymology 2

From Old Swedish spaker (“rod, stick, lever”), from Middle Low German spake, cognate with Danish spag (“spoke”), Dutch spaak (“spoke”), and English spoke.

Noun

spak c

  1. a lever, a rod, a handle, a stick, a joystick, a control
    nazisterna sitter vid spakarna
    the nazis are in control
Declension
Declension of spak 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative spak spaken spakar spakarna
Genitive spaks spakens spakars spakarnas
Synonyms

References

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