speculate
verb
- to make predictions without complete knowledge
- to buy goods, property, shares in a company etc, hoping that you will make a large profit when you sell them
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈspɛk.jʊˌleɪt/ / /ˈspɛk.jəˌleɪt/ / /ˈspek.jəˌlæɪt/
verb
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin speculātus, perfect active participle of speculor (“to watch, observe, examine, spy”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from specula (“a watchtower”), ultimately from speciō (“to look at”).
- To think, meditate or reflect on a subject; to consider, to deliberate or cogitate.
“It is remarkable that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most perfect quietude to the external regulations of society.”
- To make an inference based on inconclusive evidence; to surmise or conjecture.
“We can speculate that in many instances the sharks are not feeding on their victims, but only in a few cases can we guess what they are doing.”
“It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].”
- To make a risky trade in the hope of making a profit; to venture or gamble.
“Some preliminary legal arrangements were made, but the scheme proceeded no further, as the various local authorities concerned were unwilling to speculate public funds on what was, even at that date, a will o' the wisp.”
- To anticipate which branch of code will be chosen and execute it in advance.