Middle English

Verb

spak

1. past tense of speak

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

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

1. a lever

Derived terms

• girspak

References

• “spak” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

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

1. a lever

Derived terms

• girspak

References

• “spak” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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

Related terms

• spakhet
• spakna
• spakvatten

Synonyms

• foglig
• kuvad
• medgörlig

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

Related terms

• spaka
• spakblock
• spakmanövrerad
• styrspak
• växelspak

Synonyms

• grepp
• handtag
• reglage
• stång

References

• spak in Svenska Akademiens Ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)
• spak in Svenska Akademiens ordbok online.