First used in 1610 in the sense of 'discuss'. Use for the meaning of 'bespeak' is attested since the 1960s.
speakto (third-person singular simple presentspeaks to,present participlespeaking to,simple pastspoke to,past participlespoken to)
- (idiomatic) To giveevidence regarding something; toattest or provide evidence for; tobespeak.
2006, Staff of Vault,The College Buzz Book, page176:This definitelyspeaks to the fact that at Georgetown, beginning at the admissions process, you're not a number but a real person.
2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, inEnglish World-Wide[1], page 7:Leaving aside the abundance of negativity for the time being, in aggregate these attempts at definitionspeak to the multitude of linguistic phenomena characteristic of language hybridity in multilingual settings, albeit explained with differing emphases by different definers.
- (idiomatic) Toaddress a particular topic.
1981,McGill journal of education:Education for beingspeaks to what grows within the person himself
- (idiomatic) To (figuratively)resonate with; to feel emotionally relevant to.
His music reallyspeaks to me.
2023 August 31, Frankie de la Cretaz, “Postcard from Camp Gaylore”, inCosmopolitan[2]:With its pastel cover and pro-LGBTQ+ anthem “You Need to Calm Down,” Lover got a ton of airplay in that two-bedroom apartment. And the breakup songs—“Death by a Thousand Cuts,” “I Forgot That You Existed”—certainlyspoke to me.
These usages are in addition to the main (and not idiomatic) usage meaning "to address one's words to (someone)".
to give evidence regarding something
to address a particular topic
