"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Speculation

 
The word speculation means a guess; a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence; a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence);and an investment that is very risky but could yield great profits.

Speculation was a also a mild but rather noisy domestic gambling game which appeared towards the end of the 18th century and disappeared about a hundred years later. Jane Austen mentioned it several times, notably in 'Mansfield Park'.
 

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