Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Spencer” come from?

Spencer comes from Middle English spenser, derived from Old French espensier, a term for a person who dispensed or managed provisions.

Ancestry of “Spencer”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishSpenser—
2Middle Englishspenserspencer
3Old Frenchespensier—
4Latindispensarepresent active infinitive of dispēnsō;...
5Latindispendereto weight out; weigh out; to weigh out
6Latinpendēre—
7Latinpendō—
8Proto-Italicpendōhang, put in a hanging position
9Proto-Indo-European(s)péndeti—
10Proto-Indo-European(s)pend-to stretch

Words derived from “Spencer”

  • Spencerian
  • spencer
  • spencerite
  • spencer
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pend- →