Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “spanless” come from?

spanless (English) comes from English span, from Middle English span, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic spann, from Proto-Germanic spinnaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)pénh₁-ne-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)penh₁- — to twist; to weave.

spanless (English): Incapable of being spanned

Definitions

  1. Incapable of being spanned

Ancestry of “spanless”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishspanThe space from the thumb to the end of the little...
2Middle EnglishspanAlternative form of spanne
3Old Englishspannspan
4Proto-Germanicspann—
5Proto-Germanicspinnanąto spin
6Proto-Indo-European(s)pénh₁-ne-—
7Proto-Indo-European(s)penh₁-to twist; to weave
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)penh₁- →