tomar la palabra

Question

I know that "tomar la palabra a alguien" means "to take someone's word" or "to beileve what someone says." But in reading this morning, I saw a usage that might mean something else, and I wanted to see what y'all think.

Context: Peter has arrived at the home of Cornelius, after Cornelius has summoned him. Cornelius gives an explanation of why he called Peter. When he is done, "Pedro tomó la palabra, y dijo ...." and Peter goes on to give a bit of a speech.

Question: Does this mean "Peter believed Cornelius, and said" or something like "Peter took the floor, and said"?

What is throwing me off is the absence of a pronoun referring to Cornelius or an explicit reference to him.

Thanks for any light you can provide!

This is from Hechos 10:34.

Answer 1

"Peter took the floor, and said"

This is correct: "tomar la palabra" is a set phrase.

Perfecto. Gracias! :) - Jeremias, Aug 25, 2011

Answer 2

Our dictionary mentions both contexts.

speech (habla)

(derecho de hablar)

dar la palabra a alguien -> to give the floor to somebody

tomar la palabra -> to take the floor

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tomar la palabra a alguien -> to hold somebody to their word

Ah, I did not see that. Thanks. - LaBurra, Aug 25, 2011

Answer 3

I think it means "Peter took the words into account", "took in what Cornelius said", and then gave his speech.

Answer 4

Otra versión lo dice así, "Entonces Pedro, abriendo su boca, dijo..."