Speculate
(Spec"u*late) v. i. [imp. & p. p. Speculated ; p. pr. & vb. n. Speculating.] [L. speculatus,
p. p. of speculari to spy out, observe, fr. specula a lookout, fr. specere to look. See Spy.]
1. To consider by turning a subject in the mind, and viewing it in its different aspects and relations; to
meditate; to contemplate; to theorize; as, to speculate on questions in religion; to speculate on political
events.
It is remarkable that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most pefect quietude
to the external regulations of society.
Hawthorne. 2. (Philos.) To view subjects from certain premises given or assumed, and infer conclusions respecting
them a priori.
3. (Com.) To purchase with the expectation of a contingent advance in value, and a consequent sale
at a profit; — often, in a somewhat depreciative sense, of unsound or hazardous transactions; as, to speculate
in coffee, in sugar, or in bank stock.
Speculate
(Spec"u*late), v. t. To consider attentively; as, to speculate the nature of a thing. [R.] Sir W.
Hamilton.
Speculation
(Spec`u*la"tion) n. [L. speculatio a spying out, observation: cf. F. spéculation.]
1. The act of speculating. Specifically: —
(a) Examination by the eye; view. [Obs.]
(b) Mental view of anything in its various aspects and relations; contemplation; intellectual examination.
Thenceforth to speculations high or deep
I turned my thoughts.
Milton. (c) (Philos.) The act or process of reasoning a priori from premises given or assumed.
(d) (Com.) The act or practice of buying land, goods, shares, etc., in expectation of selling at a higher
price, or of selling with the expectation of repurchasing at a lower price; a trading on anticipated fluctuations
