talk

Meaning

1. To communicate, usually by means of speech.
2. To discuss; to talk about.
3. To speak (a certain language).
4. Used to emphasise the importance, size, complexity etc. of the thing mentioned.
5. To confess, especially implicating others.
6. To criticize someone for something of which one is guilty oneself.
7. To gossip; to create scandal.
8. To manifest outwardly in speech, as opposed to reality or action.
9. To influence someone to express something, especially a particular stance or viewpoint or in a particular manner.
10. A conversation or discussion; usually serious, but informal.
11. A lecture.
12. Gossip; rumour.
13. A major topic of social discussion.
14. A customary conversation by parent(s) or guardian(s) with their (often teenage) child about a reality of life; in particular:
15. A customary conversation in which parent(s) explain sexual intercourse to their child.
16. A customary conversation in which the parent(s) of a black child explain the racism and violence they may face, especially when interacting with police, and strategies to manage it.
17. Empty boasting, promises or claims.
18. Meeting to discuss a particular matter.

Etymology / origin

From Middle English talken, talkien, from Old English *tealcian (“to talk, chat”), from Proto-West Germanic *talkōn, from Proto-Germanic *talkōną (“to talk, chatter”), frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *talōną (“to count, recount, tell”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, count”), equivalent to tell + -k. Cognates Cognate with Low German taalken (“to chatter, gossip, talk”). Related also to Bavarian zoin (“to pay”), Cimbrian zaln (“to pay”), Dutch talen (“to care, long; to speak; to say”), German zahlen (“to pay”), Mòcheno zoln (“to pay”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tale (“to talk, speak”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish tala (“to speak, talk”), Norwegian Nynorsk tala (“to speak, talk”); also Latin dolus (“deceit, deception, fraud, guile, treachery, trickery; malice; artifice, device, stratagem”), Ancient Greek δόλος (dólos, “deceit, trick; wiles; bait”), Armenian տող (toġ, “line (in a text)”). More at tale. Despite the surface similarity, unrelated to Proto-Indo-European *telkʷ- (“to talk”) (due to Grimm's law), which is the source of loquacious.

Related words

Descendant words

• talk(Chinese) (bor)
• 脫口秀(Chinese) (bor)
• Toki Pona(English) (der)
• taak(Jamaican Creole) (der)
• taak(Jamaican Creole) (der)
• トーク(Japanese) (bor)
• taalken(Low German) (cog)
• taki(Sranan Tongo) (der)
• tok(Tok Pisin) (inh)

Sources

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