Where does “Spear” come from?
Spear comes from Middle English spere, from Old English spere, from Latin sphaera, from Ancient Greek σφαῖρα, ultimately derived from Ancient Greek σπαίρω meaning to swell or bulge.
Spear (English): A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion
Definitions
- A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion
Ancestry of “Spear”, step by step
Spear traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English spere
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | spere | A spear or lance; The Lance of Longinus; A barb... |
| 2 | Old French | sphere | sphere shape |
| 3 | Latin | sphēra | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | σφαῖρα | ball, globe, sphere |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ειδής | like, connected to, from the nature of, full of;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -ής | adjective suffix |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ēs | Primarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -ess | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -os | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;... |