GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Speculate , 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.]
   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.
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   It is remarkable that persons who speculate the most boldly often conform with the most pefect quietude to the external regulations of society.
   Hawthorne.
   
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   (Philos.) To view subjects from certain premises given or assumed, and infer conclusions respecting them a priori.
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   (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.
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2.       
   Speculate, v. t. To consider attentively; as, to speculate the nature of a thing. [R.]
   Sir W. Hamilton.
   
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