The word “speakeasy,” first used to describe an unlicensed saloon around 1890, is the combination of the words speak + easy, from the practice of speaking quietly about such a place in public, or when inside it, so as not to alert the police and neighbors. In early 19th century Irish and British dialect, a “speak softly shop” was a smuggler’s den. The word speakeasy gained wide currency in the United States, of course, during Prohibition (1920-33).
Source: Online Etymology Dictionary
