speaking

Pluralspeakings (some meanings)

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of speak.

   He was speaking quietly so the baby would not wake.

   Speaking in front of a crowd makes many people nervous.

   Note

   The verb form does double duty. As a participle it builds progressive tenses with be (she is speaking) and can follow a noun or pronoun (Who is that speaking?). As a gerund it acts as a noun, standing as subject or object (Speaking in public frightens him). Cut loose from its sentence, the same participle becomes the telephone reply.

2. 2
   adjectivein compounds

   Able to use and communicate in a given language.

   He has a speaking grasp of Portuguese, though he cannot write it.

   Her speaking fluency in German impressed the interview panel.

   Similarconversational, spoken, oral

   Oppositewritten

   Note

   A branch of the ability-to-speak sense that lives in compounds: English-speaking, Russian-speaking, French-speaking. The language name comes first and is joined by a hyphen. The compound describes people and places alike, from a single gentleman to whole countries or "the French-speaking world."

   Most of the delegates came from Spanish-speaking countries.

   She grew up in a German-speaking household in Chicago.

3. 3
   adjective

   Relating to or involving the act of talking, as a role or engagement.

   Only one extra was given a speaking role in the film.

   The conference filled its program with speaking sessions.

4. 4
   noununcountable

   The act of communicating by voice.

   Clear speaking matters more than a loud voice in a small room.

   The coach worked on his speaking before the big presentation.

   Similarspeech, talking, delivery, elocution, diction

   Note

   The act can also be counted, and the plural speakings then names separate occasions of talk. Jimmie W. Greene and Samuel D. Perry's Bridge Builder (2011) recalls that "public speakings were peaceful events and essential ingredients for election to office." For the activity in general, as in clear speaking or good speaking, keep the singular. Use the plural only when you mean individual events.

5. 5
   adjective

   Employed in the act of talking, as a voice or tone.

   The actor lowered his speaking pitch to play the older man.

   An old speaking tube once carried orders to the kitchen below.

   Note

   The adjective senses descend from an old participle, Old English specende or sprecende, whose -ende ending later merged into -ing. The nouns have a separate origin in Middle English speking, a verbal noun. Here the word only classifies: a speaking voice is simply the one you talk in. It is therefore not graded, and no voice is more speaking than another.

6. 6
   adjective

   Able to produce speech; capable of talking.

   Legends across the world tell of speaking animals who give advice.

   The robot was a speaking machine that answered simple questions.

   Oppositemute

7. 7
   noununcountable

   A person's ability to communicate by voice in a particular language.

   His French speaking lagged behind his strong reading comprehension.

   The course devotes extra hours to speaking before the oral test.

   Similarconversation, speech

8. 8
   interjection

   Used to answer a telephone, confirming that you are the very person the caller has asked for.

   "Could I reach the head of sales?" "Speaking."

   She picked up the receiver, heard her name, and answered, "Speaking."

   Note

   Telephone talk at its most economical. The full sentence would be "This is José García speaking," but the caller has already supplied the name, so everything except the participle drops away. The reply fits only when you are the person asked for. If the caller wants someone else, you need a different answer.

9. 9
   adjective

   Vividly expressive, as a look or image that conveys much without words.

   A speaking glance passed between them across the crowded room.

   The sculptor produced a speaking likeness of the young queen.

   Similarexpressive, eloquent, telling, meaningful, lifelike

   Oppositeblank, expressionless, inexpressive

   Note

   Here the word turns figurative: a face, a look or a sight seems to talk without words. Unlike the plain "used in talking" sense, it can be graded, so a sight can be "more speaking than any speech could be." Its natural partners are the face and its images: a speaking countenance, a speaking glance, a speaking likeness.

10. 10
    nouncountable

    A spoken performance or recitation, such as of a story.

    The elder's speaking of the creation tale lasted nearly an hour.

    Visitors gathered for a candlelit speaking of the ghost story.

    Similarrecitation, telling, narration, rendition, recital

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