talk

A conversation or discussion; usually serious, but informal.

Noun

A conversation or discussion; usually serious, but informal.
- We need to have a talk about your homework.
- All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill.[…]Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connection—or rather as a...
A lecture.
- There is a talk on Shakespeare tonight.
Gossip; rumour.
- There's been talk lately about the two of them.
A major topic of social discussion.
- She is the talk of the day.
- The musical is the talk of the town.
A customary conversation by parent(s) or guardian(s) with their (often teenage) child about a reality of life; in particular:
- Have you had the talk with Jay yet? I found a condom in his room.
1. A customary conversation in which parent(s) explain sexual intercourse to their child.
2. (US) A customary conversation in which the parent(s) of a black child explain the racism and violence they may face, especially when interacting with police, and strategies to manage it.
  - Later, I made sure to have the talk with my son about being a black boy, […] - 2012, Crystal McCrary, Inspiration: Profiles of Black Women Changing Our World, →ISBN:
  - All the black parents I have ever spoken to have had “the talk” with their sons and daughters. “The talk” is a conversation about how to behave and not to behave with police. - 2016, Jim Wallis, America's Original Sin:...
  - Now, I was a black man in the South, and my folks had had “the talk” with me. No, not the one about the birds and bees. This one is about the black man and the police. - 2016, Stuart Scott, Larry Platt, Every Day I...
Empty boasting, promises or claims.
- The party leader's speech was all talk.
Meeting to discuss a particular matter.
- The leaders of the G8 nations are currently in talks over nuclear weapons.
Synonyms: conference debate discussion meeting

Origin

From Middle English talk, talke (“conversation; discourse”), from the verb (see above).

Verb

To communicate, usually by means of speech.
- Let's sit down and talk.
- Although I don't speak Chinese, I managed to talk with the villagers using signs and gestures.
- I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk with you, and so following, but I will not eat with you. - c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares...
To discuss; to talk about.
- They sat down to talk business.
- That's enough about work, let's talk holidays!
To speak (a certain language).
- We talk French sometimes.
Used to emphasise the importance, size, complexity etc. of the thing mentioned.
- Are you interested in the job? They're talking big money.
- We're not talking rocket science here: it should be easy.
To confess, especially implicating others.
- Suppose he talks?
- She can be relied upon not to talk.
- They tried to make me talk.
To criticize someone for something of which one is guilty oneself.
- I am not the one to talk.
- She is a fine one to talk.
- You should talk.
To gossip; to create scandal.
- People will talk.
- Aren't you afraid the neighbours will talk?
To manifest outwardly in speech, as opposed to reality or action.
- Remember that Christ and Christianity may not always be the same thing; e.g. Jerry Falwell talks "Christianity" but practices hatred […] which is diametrically opposed to what Jesus really taught. - 1979 December 22, S....
To influence someone to express something, especially a particular stance or viewpoint or in a particular manner.
- That's not like you at all, Jared. The drugs are talking. Snap out of it!
- "So, are you going to give up all this good living and easy money and come fly for the Russians?" "Hello no. I told you that yesterday." "That was your wallet talking. The shooting has started. Now I appeal to your...

Origin

From Middle English talken, talkien, from Old English *tealcian (“to talk, chat”), from Proto-West Germanic *talkōn, from Proto-Germanic *talkōną (“to talk, chatter”), frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *talōną (“to count, recount, tell”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, count”), equivalent to tell + -k. Cognates Cognate with Low German taalken (“to chatter, gossip, talk”). Related also to Bavarian zoin (“to pay”), Cimbrian zaln (“to pay”), Dutch talen (“to care, long; to speak; to say”), German zahlen (“to pay”), Mòcheno zoln (“to pay”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tale (“to talk, speak”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish tala (“to speak, talk”), Norwegian Nynorsk tala (“to speak, talk”); also Latin dolus (“deceit, deception, fraud, guile, treachery, trickery; malice; artifice, device, stratagem”), Ancient Greek δόλος (dólos, “deceit, trick; wiles;...