WORD

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German wort ~, Latin verbum, Greek eirein to say, speak, Hittite weriya- to call, name Date: before 12th century 1. something that is said, b. plural talk , discourse , the text of a vocal musical composition, a brief remark or conversation , 2. a. a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning usually without being divisible into smaller units capable of independent use, the entire set of linguistic forms produced by combining a single base with various inflectional elements without change in the part of speech elements, b. a written or printed character or combination of characters representing a spoken ~ , any segment of written or printed discourse ordinarily appearing between spaces or between a space and a punctuation mark, a number of bytes processed as a unit and conveying a quantum of information in communication and computer work, order , command , 4. often capitalized Logos , gospel 1a, the expressed or manifested mind and will of God, 5. news , information , rumor , the act of speaking or of making verbal communication, saying , proverb , promise , declaration , a quarrelsome utterance or conversation, a verbal signal ; pass~ , 11. slang — used interjectionally to express agreement II. verb Date: 13th century intransitive verb speak , transitive verb to express in ~s ; phrase