*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of speck

From Middle English spekke, from Old English specca (“small spot, stain”), from the same ultimate source as Proto-Germanic *sprakô (“spark”). Cognate with Low German spaken (“to spot with wet”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A tiny spot or particle, especially of dirt. · A very small amount; a particle; a whit. · A small etheostomoid fish, Etheostoma stigmaeum, common in the eastern United States.

verb

To mark with specks; to speckle.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English spekke, from Old English specca (“small spot, stain”), from the same ultimate source as Proto-Germanic *sprakô (“spark”). Cognate with Low German spaken (“to spot with wet”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionspekkeenm
  • Inherited-form mentionspeccaang
  • Derivation mention*sprakôgem-pro · spark
  • Cognate mentionspakennds · to spot with wet
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "spekke"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English spekke"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "specca",
        "4": "",
        "5": "small spot, stain"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English specca (“small spot, stain”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*sprakô",
        "t": "spark"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *sprakô (“spark”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "spaken",
        "3": "",
        "t": "to spot with wet"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German spaken (“to spot with wet”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "spekke",
      "spekke#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "specca",
      "specca#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*sprakô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sprakô"
    ],
    [
      "spaken",
      "spaken#Low_German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A tiny spot or particle, especially of dirt.",
        "A very small amount; a particle; a whit.",
        "A small etheostomoid fish, Etheostoma stigmaeum, common in the eastern United States."
      ],
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    },
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      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To mark with specks; to speckle."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Fat; lard; fat meat. · A juniper-flavoured ham originally from Tyrol. · The blubber of whales or other marine mammals. · The fat of the hippopotamus.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From earlier specke, spycke (probably reinforced by Dutch spek, German Speck), from Middle English spik, spyk, spike, spich, from Old English spic (“bacon; lard; fat”), from Proto-West Germanic *spik, from Proto-Germanic *spiką (“bacon”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Späk, Dutch spek, German Speck, Icelandic spik.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionspikenm
  • Inherited-form mentionspicang · bacon; lard; fat
  • Inherited-form mention*spikgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*spikągem-pro · bacon
  • Cognate mentionSpäkstq
  • Cognate mentionspeknl
  • Cognate mentionSpeckde
  • Cognate mentionspikis
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    },
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
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        "t": "bacon; lard; fat"
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      "expansion": "Old English spic (“bacon; lard; fat”)"
    },
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    },
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        "2": "gem-pro",
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      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *spiką (“bacon”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Späk"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Späk"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "spek"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch spek"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Speck"
      },
      "expansion": "German Speck"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "spik"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic spik"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "specke",
      "specke#English"
    ],
    [
      "spycke",
      "spycke#English"
    ],
    [
      "spek",
      "spek#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Speck",
      "Speck#German"
    ],
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      "spik",
      "spik#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "spyk",
      "spyk#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "spike",
      "spike#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "spich",
      "spich#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "spic",
      "spic#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*spik",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/spik"
    ],
    [
      "*spiką",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/spiką"
    ],
    [
      "Späk",
      "Späk#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
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      "spek",
      "spek#Dutch"
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    ],
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    ]
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        "A juniper-flavoured ham originally from Tyrol.",
        "The blubber of whales or other marine mammals.",
        "The fat of the hippopotamus."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for speck →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c3BlY2s