Where does “span” come from?

Span derives from Middle English spannen, from Old English spannan, from Proto-Germanic spannaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)pend-, ultimately from the root (s)penh₁-.

span (English): The space from the thumb to the end of the little...

Definitions

  1. The space from the thumb to the end of the little...

Ancestry of “span”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishspanAlternative form of spanne
2Old Englishspannspan
3Proto-Germanicspann—
4Proto-Germanicspinnanąto spin
5Proto-Indo-European(s)pénh₁-ne-—
6Proto-Indo-European(s)penh₁-to twist; to weave

Words derived from “span”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)penh₁- →