speer

or speir, spier

[ speer ]

/ spɪər /

verb (used with or without object)

Chiefly Scot. to ask; inquire.

Nearby words

speedway, speedwell, speedwriting, speedy, speel, speer, speir, speiss, spek, speke, spelaean

Origin of speer

before 900; Middle English speren, spiren, Old English spyrian to make tracks, trace, ask about; cognate with German spüren, Old Norse spyrja to ask; akin to spoor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for speir

When our hero left the presence of Mrs. Speir, wild, strange hopes were surging in his heart.
A Successful Shadow|Harlan Page Halsey
At this moment the woman, Mrs. Speir, uttered a cry, and would have fallen had not the detective held and assisted her to a chair.
A Successful Shadow|Harlan Page Halsey
On the occasion when Jack appeared he found Mrs. Speir seated in her library.
A Successful Shadow|Harlan Page Halsey
"Jist answer me ae queston, Isy, and I'll speir nae mair," said Marion.
Salted With Fire|George MacDonald

Gey an' often: Bell's an auld friend o' my mither's, and I run over to speir for her aye when I've time.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 15, No. 89, May, 1875|Various

British Dictionary definitions for speir

speir

speer

/ (spiːr) /

verb

Scot to ask; inquire

Word Origin for speir

Old English spyrian to seek after, search for

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