Word.ws English Dictionary

speechlore

UK/ˈspiːt͡ʃˌlɔː/US/ˈspit͡ʃˌloɹ/

speechlore noun: the science, study, or knowledge of language or speech; linguistics.

Noun

speechlore (uncountable)

  1. The science, study, or knowledge of language or speech; linguistics.
    • I know it may be said that place names are very unsafe ground, as they are mostly taken by wild casts of thought ; but the truth is that they are more or less trustworthy, as they are taken upon wider or narrower grounds of speechlore.1865, British Archaeological Association, The archaeological journal: Volume 22
    • It says they were driven forth by another race; and it is markworthy that it makes the Magyares, or Hungarians as we call them, to be what speechlore has now found them to be, Finns, or of the Finnish race, [...]1877, David Masson, Sir George Grove, John Morley, Macmillan's magazine: Volume 35
  2. (nonce-word) Philology; grammar.
    • After the publication of Redecraft, nearly all William Barnes's literary energies were given to "Speechlore," as he called Philology.1887, Leader Scott, The life of William Barnes

Origin of speechlore

From speech + lore.

Questions about speechlore

What does speechlore mean?
Speechlore means the science, study, or knowledge of language or speech; linguistics.
What part of speech is speechlore?
Speechlore is a noun.
How do you pronounce speechlore?
Speechlore is pronounced /ˈspiːt͡ʃˌlɔː/ (UK).

Words near speechlore in the dictionary

  1. speechlessness
  2. speechlessnesses
  3. Speechley
  4. Speechleys
  5. speechlike
  6. speechlore
  7. speechmaker
  8. speechmakers
  9. speechmaking
  10. speechmakings
  11. speechment

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: speechlore (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “speechlore.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/speechlore. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.