Where does “Spears” come from?
Spear comes from Middle English spere, Old English spere, Latin sphaera, and Ancient Greek σφαῖρα, ultimately from Greek σπαίρω meaning to writhe or twist.
Ancestry of “Spears”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Spear | A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion |
| 2 | Middle English | spere | A spear or lance; The Lance of Longinus; A barb... |
| 3 | Old French | sphere | sphere shape |
| 4 | Latin | sphēra | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | σφαῖρα | ball, globe, sphere |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -ειδής | like, connected to, from the nature of, full of;... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -ής | adjective suffix |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -ēs | Primarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -ess | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -os | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;... |