SPECULATE

speculate, theorize, theorise, conjecture, hypothesize, hypothesise, hypothecate, suppose

(verb) to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds; “Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps”

speculate

(verb) talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusion; “We were speculating whether the President had to resign after the scandal”

speculate, job

(verb) invest at a risk; “I bought this house not because I want to live in it but to sell it later at a good price, so I am speculating”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

speculate (third-person singular simple present speculates, present participle speculating, simple past and past participle speculated)

(obsolete, intransitive) To think, meditate or reflect on a subject; to consider, to deliberate or cogitate.

(intransitive) To make an inference based on inconclusive evidence; to surmise or conjecture.

(intransitive, business, finance) To make a risky trade in the hope of making a profit; to venture or gamble.

(intransitive, programming) To anticipate which branch of code will be chosen and execute it in advance.

Anagrams

• peculates

Source: Wiktionary

Spec"u*late, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Speculated; p. pr. & vb. n. Speculating.] Etym: [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.)

Definition: To view subjects from certain premises given or assumed, and infer conclusions respecting them a priori.

3. (Com.)

Definition: 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.

Spec"u*late, v. t.

Definition: To consider attentively; as, to speculate the nature of a thing. [R.] Sir W. Hamilton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition