English
speechlore
From speech + lore.
Proto-West Germanic *sprākī ‘talkative’
Proto-West Germanic *sprāku ‘speech, language’
Old English sprǣċ ‘speech’
Old English spǣċ
Middle English speche ‘speaking, speech’
English speech
Proto-Indo-European *leys- ‘to trace, to track’
Proto-Indo-European *(le-)lóys-e
Proto-Germanic *lizaną ‘to know, to be familiar with, to understand’
Proto-Germanic *laizijaną ‘to teach’
Proto-Germanic *laizō ‘teaching’
Proto-West Germanic *laiʀu
Old English lār ‘teaching, learning, education’
Middle English lore ‘Education or teaching’
English lore
Today it means
noun The science, study, or knowledge of language or speech; linguistics.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “speechlore”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / speechlore