talk
English
Etymology
From Middle English talken, talkien, from Old English *tealcian (“to talk, chat”), from Proto-Germanic *talkōnan (“to talk, chatter”), frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *talōnan (“to count, recount, tell”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, count”). Cognate with Scots talk (“to talk”), Eastern Frisian talken (“to talk, chat”), Low German Talk (“talk”). Related also to Danish tale (“to talk, speak”), Swedish tala (“to talk, speak, say, chatter”), Icelandic tala (“to talk”), Old English talian (“to count, calculate, reckon, account, consider, think, esteem, value; argue; tell, relate; impute, assign”). More at tale.
Pronunciation
- (RP) IPA: /tɔːk/, X-SAMPA: /tO:k/
- (US) IPA: /tɔk/, X-SAMPA: /tOk/
- (cot–caught merger) IPA: /tɑk/ X-SAMPA: /tAk/
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Audio (US) (file) -
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔːk
- Homophones: torc, torq, torque (non-rhotic accents only)
Noun
talk (plural talks)
- A conversation or discussion.
- We need to have a talk about your homework.
- A lecture.
- There's a talk about Shakespeare on tonight.
- (preceded by the) A major topic of social discussion.
- She is the talk of the day.
- The musical is the talk of the town.
- (not preceded by an article) Empty boasting, promises or claims.
- The party leader's speech was all talk.
Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:talk
Derived terms
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Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
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Verb
talk (third-person singular simple present talks, present participle talking, simple past and past participle talked)
- (intransitive) To communicate, usually by means of speech.
- Although I don't speak Chinese I managed to talk with the villagers using signs and gestures.
- (transitive, informal) To discuss.
- They sat down to talk business.
- We're not talking rocket science here: it should be easy.
- (slang) Confess, especially implicating others.
- Suppose he talks? She can be relied upon not to talk. They tried to make me talk.
- Criticize someone for something of which one is guilty oneself.
- I am not the one to talk. She is a fine one to talk. You should talk. Look who's talking.
- Gossip; create scandal.
- People will talk. Aren't you afraid the neighbours will talk?
Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:talk
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
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Translations
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Related terms
Look at pages starting with talk.
Statistics
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Most common English words before 1923: answer · early · saying · #449: talk · spirit · sometimes · account
Danish
Etymology
Via French talc or German Talk, from Persian طلق (talq).
Pronunciation
- IPA: /talk/, [tˢalˀɡ̊]
Noun
talk c (singular definite talken, not used in plural form)
- talc (a soft, fine-grained mineral used in talcum powder)
Related terms
Dutch
Noun
talk ? (??? please provide the plural!, ??? please provide the diminutive!)
- talc (a soft, fine-grained mineral used in talcum powder)
Anagrams
Polish
Noun
talk m
- talc (a soft, fine-grained mineral used in talcum powder)
Declension
| singular only | |
|---|---|
| nominative | talk |
| genitive | talku |
| dative | talkowi |
| accusative | talk |
| instrumental | talkiem |
| locative | talku |
| vocative | talku |
Swedish
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