Spoke
/spoʊk/noun
The past tense of speak; also one of the radial bars connecting a wheel hub to its rim.
Did you know?The wheel-part noun and the speech verb are historically different words that merged in spelling, and the speech verb goes back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning “to speak,” while the wheel sense is from a separate Old English word for a rod or support.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*spek-
“to speak, say”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*sprekaną
“to speak”
Old English
OE
specan / sprecan
“to speak, utter”
Middle English
ME
spoken / spake
“spoke; said”
Modern English
English
spoke
“past tense of speak”