Join free

speight

English

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

speight¹

  • /speɪt/
  • /spaɪt/

Sounds like spate, spite · Rhymes with -eɪt, -aɪt

Where it comes from

From late Northern Middle English specht (“woodpecker”), from Old English *spiht, *speoht, from Proto-West Germanic *spiht, *speht, from Proto-Germanic *spihtaz, *spehtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“a kind of bird, woodpecker, magpie”).

Traditionally considered to be borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German, but this is rendered problematic by the mention of Spehtesberie in Domesday (Middle English Speghtesbury, Spettesbury; modern Spettisbury). Compare Dutch specht (“woodpecker”), German Specht (“woodpecker”), Danish spætte (“woodpecker”), Latin pīcus (“woodpecker”).

Displaced by woodpecker.

noun speights · specht · spekt · spight

  1. dialectal, obsolete A woodpecker.

Speight²

Where it comes from

English surname, from the noun speight (“woodpecker”).

proper noun Speights

  1. A surname.

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"speight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/speight. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

speight. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/speight

Chicago

"speight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/speight.

BibTeX
@misc{speight_2026,
  title = {speight},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/speight},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}