"speakeasy" meaning in All languages combined

See speakeasy on Wiktionary

Noun [English]

Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-speakeasy.wav [US] Forms: speakeasies [plural], speakeasys [plural]
Etymology: Deverbal from speak easy (= speak quietly [interj.]); for the history, see Wikipedia at speakeasy § Etymology. Head templates: {{en-noun|+|s}} speakeasy (plural speakeasies or speakeasys)
  1. (historical) An illegal saloon or tavern, especially one operated during the American Prohibition period in the 1920s. Tags: historical Synonyms: blind pig, blind tiger
    Sense id: en-speakeasy-en-noun-N~EoXCZO Categories (other): English exocentric compounds Disambiguation of English exocentric compounds: 46 54
  2. (historical) An illegal saloon or tavern, especially one operated during the American Prohibition period in the 1920s.
    (loosely) In modern times, a legal bar in the style of a speakeasy, i.e. one that is hidden away and has a quiet atmosphere.
    Tags: broadly, historical Synonyms: blind pig, blind tiger
    Sense id: en-speakeasy-en-noun-AWTB5fLo Categories (other): English deverbals, English entries with incorrect language header, English exocentric compounds, English links with manual fragments, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Bars Disambiguation of English deverbals: 27 73 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 23 77 Disambiguation of English exocentric compounds: 46 54 Disambiguation of English links with manual fragments: 41 59 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 19 81 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 20 80 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 19 81 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 23 77 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 21 79 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 19 81 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 17 83 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 30 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 15 85 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 25 75 Disambiguation of Bars: 45 55
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: smokeasy, speakeasylike Translations (illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period): контрабандна кръчма (kontrabandna krăčma) (Bulgarian), 美國非法地下酒吧 /美国非法地下酒吧 (Měiguó fēifǎ dìxià jiǔbā) (Chinese Mandarin), smugkro [common-gender] (Danish), salakapakka (Finnish), スピークイージー (supīkuījī) (Japanese), bar ilícito [masculine] (Spanish), taberna clandestina [feminine] (Spanish), lönnkrog (Swedish)
Disambiguation of 'illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period': 50 50

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "smokeasy"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "speakeasylike"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_links": [
    [
      "speak",
      "speak#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "easy",
      "easy#Adverb"
    ]
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Deverbal from speak easy (= speak quietly [interj.]); for the history, see Wikipedia at speakeasy § Etymology.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "speakeasies",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "speakeasys",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "+",
        "2": "s"
      },
      "expansion": "speakeasy (plural speakeasies or speakeasys)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "46 54",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English exocentric compounds",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              107,
              118
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1946, George Johnston, Skyscrapers in the Mist, page 90:",
          "text": "Many of the legitimate nightclubs of today sprang like legalized phoenixes from the still-hot ashes of the speakeasies of prohibition days.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              67,
              76
            ],
            [
              90,
              99
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2020, David Rosen, Prohibition New York City, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN, page 39:",
          "text": "Retuning^([sic]) to Gotham, he came to intimately know Manhattan's speakeasy scene. “At a speakeasy,” Hirschfeld acknowledged, “you had to be known to get in...each place had its own clientele.” Membership cards, really fake IDs, were common.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An illegal saloon or tavern, especially one operated during the American Prohibition period in the 1920s."
      ],
      "id": "en-speakeasy-en-noun-N~EoXCZO",
      "links": [
        [
          "illegal",
          "illegal"
        ],
        [
          "saloon",
          "saloon"
        ],
        [
          "tavern",
          "tavern"
        ],
        [
          "Prohibition",
          "Prohibition"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(historical) An illegal saloon or tavern, especially one operated during the American Prohibition period in the 1920s."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "blind pig"
        },
        {
          "word": "blind tiger"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "27 73",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English deverbals",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "23 77",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "46 54",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English exocentric compounds",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "41 59",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with manual fragments",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 81",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 80",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 81",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "23 77",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 79",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Danish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 81",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 83",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 70",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "15 85",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "25 75",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "45 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Bars",
          "orig": "en:Bars",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An illegal saloon or tavern, especially one operated during the American Prohibition period in the 1920s.",
        "In modern times, a legal bar in the style of a speakeasy, i.e. one that is hidden away and has a quiet atmosphere."
      ],
      "id": "en-speakeasy-en-noun-AWTB5fLo",
      "links": [
        [
          "illegal",
          "illegal"
        ],
        [
          "saloon",
          "saloon"
        ],
        [
          "tavern",
          "tavern"
        ],
        [
          "Prohibition",
          "Prohibition"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(historical) An illegal saloon or tavern, especially one operated during the American Prohibition period in the 1920s.",
        "(loosely) In modern times, a legal bar in the style of a speakeasy, i.e. one that is hidden away and has a quiet atmosphere."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "blind pig"
        },
        {
          "word": "blind tiger"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "historical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-speakeasy.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/ca/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-speakeasy.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-speakeasy.wav.mp3",
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      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "kontrabandna krăčma",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "word": "контрабандна кръчма"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "Měiguó fēifǎ dìxià jiǔbā",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "word": "美國非法地下酒吧 /美国非法地下酒吧"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "lang_code": "da",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "smugkro"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "word": "salakapakka"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "roman": "supīkuījī",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "word": "スピークイージー"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "bar ilícito"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "taberna clandestina"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "word": "lönnkrog"
    }
  ],
  "word": "speakeasy"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English deverbals",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English exocentric compounds",
    "English lemmas",
    "English links with manual fragments",
    "English nouns",
    "English nouns with irregular plurals",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "en:Bars"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "smokeasy"
    },
    {
      "word": "speakeasylike"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_links": [
    [
      "speak",
      "speak#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "easy",
      "easy#Adverb"
    ]
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Deverbal from speak easy (= speak quietly [interj.]); for the history, see Wikipedia at speakeasy § Etymology.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "speakeasies",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "speakeasys",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "+",
        "2": "s"
      },
      "expansion": "speakeasy (plural speakeasies or speakeasys)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with historical senses",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              107,
              118
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1946, George Johnston, Skyscrapers in the Mist, page 90:",
          "text": "Many of the legitimate nightclubs of today sprang like legalized phoenixes from the still-hot ashes of the speakeasies of prohibition days.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              67,
              76
            ],
            [
              90,
              99
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2020, David Rosen, Prohibition New York City, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN, page 39:",
          "text": "Retuning^([sic]) to Gotham, he came to intimately know Manhattan's speakeasy scene. “At a speakeasy,” Hirschfeld acknowledged, “you had to be known to get in...each place had its own clientele.” Membership cards, really fake IDs, were common.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An illegal saloon or tavern, especially one operated during the American Prohibition period in the 1920s."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "illegal",
          "illegal"
        ],
        [
          "saloon",
          "saloon"
        ],
        [
          "tavern",
          "tavern"
        ],
        [
          "Prohibition",
          "Prohibition"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(historical) An illegal saloon or tavern, especially one operated during the American Prohibition period in the 1920s."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "blind pig"
        },
        {
          "word": "blind tiger"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with historical senses",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An illegal saloon or tavern, especially one operated during the American Prohibition period in the 1920s.",
        "In modern times, a legal bar in the style of a speakeasy, i.e. one that is hidden away and has a quiet atmosphere."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "illegal",
          "illegal"
        ],
        [
          "saloon",
          "saloon"
        ],
        [
          "tavern",
          "tavern"
        ],
        [
          "Prohibition",
          "Prohibition"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(historical) An illegal saloon or tavern, especially one operated during the American Prohibition period in the 1920s.",
        "(loosely) In modern times, a legal bar in the style of a speakeasy, i.e. one that is hidden away and has a quiet atmosphere."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "blind pig"
        },
        {
          "word": "blind tiger"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "historical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-speakeasy.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/ca/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-speakeasy.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-speakeasy.wav.mp3",
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      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "kontrabandna krăčma",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "word": "контрабандна кръчма"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "Měiguó fēifǎ dìxià jiǔbā",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "word": "美國非法地下酒吧 /美国非法地下酒吧"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "lang_code": "da",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "smugkro"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "word": "salakapakka"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "roman": "supīkuījī",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "word": "スピークイージー"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "bar ilícito"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "taberna clandestina"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "sense": "illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period",
      "word": "lönnkrog"
    }
  ],
  "word": "speakeasy"
}

Download raw JSONL data for speakeasy meaning in All languages combined (5.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-28 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (1a05e46 and e3d6d4e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.