spake

American

[speyk] / speɪk /

verb

Archaic.

a simple past tense of speak.

spake British

/ speɪk /

verb

archaic a past tense of speak

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Thus spake one of the world’s most powerful men this week, after he gained more power still.

From Washington Post • Apr. 6, 2022

Thus spake Martin Luther King Jr. at the end of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march.

From Seattle Times • May 31, 2020

For instance, thus spake the tree: “253! Time and time again! Bob! Go now!”

From The Guardian • May 22, 2017

Thus spake Zarathustra He humbly said you listen to me and choose for yourself.

From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2016

“Private Octavian Nothing. I spake of him yesterday. I am eager to present him to Your Lordship, if Your Lordship would be so indulgent.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023