speculation

Borrowed from Old French speculation (compare French spéculation), from Late Latin speculātiō, speculātiōnem, from Latin speculor.

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speculation (countable and uncountable, plural speculations)

1. The process of thinking or meditating on a subject.
   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     Thenceforth to speculations high or deep I turned my thoughts.

   • 2012, Caroline Davies, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announce they are expecting first baby (in The Guardian, 3 December 2012)

     The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have ended months of intense speculation by announcing they are expecting their first child, but were forced to share their news earlier than hoped because of the Duchess's admission to hospital on Monday.

2. (philosophy) The act or process of reasoning a priori from premises given or assumed.
3. A conclusion to which the mind comes by speculating; mere theory; notion; conjecture.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Sir W. Temple

     From him Socrates derived the principles of morality, and most part of his natural speculations.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Macaulay

     To his speculations on these subjects he gave the lofty name of the "Oracles of Reason".

4. (business, finance) An investment involving higher-than-normal risk in order to obtain a higher-than-normal return.
5. 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 in price, as distinguished from trading in which the profit expected is the difference between the retail and wholesale prices, or the difference of price in different markets.
   • (Can we date this quote?) A. Smith

     Sudden fortunes, indeed, are sometimes made in such places, by what is called the trade of speculation.

   • (Can we date this quote?) F. A. Walker

     Speculation, while confined within moderate limits, is the agent for equalizing supply and demand, and rendering the fluctuations of price less sudden and abrupt than they would otherwise be.

6. Examination by the eye; view.
7. (obsolete) Power of sight.
   • (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare

     Thou hast no speculation in those eyes.

8. A card game in which the players buy from one another trumps or whole hands, upon a chance of getting the highest trump dealt, which entitles the holder to the pool of stakes.
9. (programming) The process of anticipating which branch of code will be chosen and executing it in advance.

• See also Thesaurus:supposition

• "on speculation" (on spec) Creating a work with the hope of selling it, as opposed to creating a work "on commission" for hire.

• peculations, placentious, spinoculate