English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Scots spae.

Verb

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spae (third-person singular simple present spaes, present participle spaeing, simple past and past participle spaed)

  1. (Scotland) To divine; foretell.
    • 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 242:
      A mermaid from the water rose,
      And spaed Sir Sinclair ill.

Derived terms

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Anagrams

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Scots

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Northern Middle English spā, from Old Norse spá (to foretell, prophesy), from Proto-Germanic *spahōną, *spehōną (to observe), from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (to look). Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål spå.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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spae (third-person singular simple present spaes, present participle spaein, simple past spaed, past participle spaed)

  1. to prophesy, foretell, predict, tell fortunes
  2. to anticipate, wish, have ambitions for

Derived terms

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  • spae-craft (the art of predicting the future)
  • spaedom (prophecy, fortunetelling)
  • spae-folk (sorcerers, wizards)
  • spaeman (fortuneteller, diviner, prophet)
  • spaer (fortuneteller, soothsayer)
  • spae-trade (the practice of fortune-telling, prophecy)
  • spae-wark (prognosticating, prophesying, soothsaying)
  • spaewife (female fortuneteller)
  • spae-woman (female fortuneteller)

Descendants

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  • English: spae