The act of speculating. Specifically:
(a)
Examination by the eye; view. (Obs.)
(b)
Mental view of anything in its various aspects and relations; contemplation; intellectual examination. "Thenceforth to speculations high or deep I turned my thoughts."
(c)
(Philos.) The act or process of reasoning a priori from premises given or assumed.
(d)
(Com.) 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. "Sudden fortunes, indeed, are sometimes made in such places, by what is called the trade of speculation." "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."
(e)
Any business venture in involving unusual risks, with a chance for large profits.
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