Emily Dickinson Lexicon

specious, adj. [L. 'fair, beautiful'.]

1. Pleasing; showy; attractive but deceptive; good in appearance but superficial; suggesting a quality other than what appears; [word play on “species”] characteristic of a creature; belonging to a particular thing.
2. Presentable; conspicuous; [word play; Johnson has “spacious”] suitable in size; having enough space to move in; [fig.] fitting; accessible; handy; convenient; easy to live with.

speck (-s), n. [OE.]

1. Tiny particle; small spot.
2. Dot of different hue; particle more bright than the surfaces around it; [fig.] glitter.
3. Trace; very small amount.

spectacle, n. [OFr < L. spectāre, to look.]

1. Anything visible.
2. [Fig.] something from which the night provides an escape.

spectacles, n. [see spectacle, n.]

Eyeglasses with side-pieces that pass over the ears when worn and fold behind the lenses when not in use.

spectral, adj. [see spectre, n.]

1. Suggestive of a specter; ghostly; eerie; unearthly
2. [Fig.] prefiguring death and its sleep; symbolizing peaceful repose, life in the world of spirits.

spectre (-'s, -s), n. [Fr. < L. 'to look'.]

1. Ghost; phantom; apparition; one evoking alarm, dread, terror, torment, darkness, or despair.
2. Thought; image; prospect that perturbs the mind; object of dread; source of terror.
3. Prophet; angel; spirit of God.

speculate (-d), v. [L. speculārī, to spy out, examine, observe, look-out, watch tower < specěre, look, see.] (webplay: nature, see, subject).

1. Consider; contemplate; surmise; ponder; reflect; theorize upon; try to understand. (1292/1290)
2. Deliberate; confer; converse hypothetically; discuss conjecturally; engage in thought.
3. See; observe; look at; gaze upon.
4. Anticipate; imagine; expect; envision; foresee; suppose; count on as probable.

speculation (-s, -'s), n. [see speculate, v.] (webplay: high, land, relations, thoughts).

1. Conjecture; anticipation; expectation of occurrence.
2. Illusion; mirage; passing fancy.
3. Contemplation; questioning; wondering; pondering; profound study; attempt to ascertain; hypothetical reasoning.
4. Purchase; determination of value; practice of buying and selling land in order to profit by the rise in the market value; [personification] risk; gambling; gambler.

speech, n. [OE, see speak, v.]

1. Verbal expression.
2. Verbal utterance; articulation of sounds.
3. Individual manner of speaking; word usage.
4. Mode of expression.
5. Expressions of ideas.

speechless, adj. [see speech, n.]

1. Dumb; lacking the faculty of verbal expression.
2. Silent.