speculate

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin speculātus, perfect active participle of speculor (“to watch, observe, examine, spy”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from specula (“a watchtower”), ultimately from speciō (“to look at”). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈspɛk.jʊˌleɪt/ (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈspɛk.jəˌleɪt/ (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈspek.jəˌlæɪt/ === Verb === speculate (third-person singular simple present speculates, present participle speculating, simple past and past participle speculated) (obsolete, intransitive) To think, meditate or reflect on a subject; to consider, to deliberate or cogitate. (intransitive) To make an inference based on inconclusive evidence; to surmise or conjecture. (intransitive, business, finance) To make a risky trade in the hope of making a profit; to venture or gamble. (intransitive, programming) To anticipate which branch of code will be chosen and execute it in advance. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== ==== Further reading ==== “speculate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “speculate”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. === Anagrams === peculates == Italian == === Etymology 1 === ==== Verb ==== speculate inflection of speculare: second-person plural present indicative second-person plural imperative === Etymology 2 === ==== Participle ==== speculate f pl feminine plural of speculato == Latin == === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [spɛ.kʊˈɫaː.tɛ] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [spe.kuˈlaː.te] === Participle === speculāte vocative masculine singular of speculātus