Where does “spar” come from?

Spar comes from Middle English sparre, from Proto-Germanic sparrô, from Proto-Indo-European (s)par-, a root of uncertain original meaning.

spar (English): A rafter of a roof; A thick pole or piece of...

Definitions

  1. A rafter of a roof; A thick pole or piece of...

Ancestry of “spar”, step by step

spar traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English sparre

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsparrespar, rafter, beam
2Middle Dutchsparrepole, beam; rafter
3Old Dutchsparro—
4Frankishsparro—
5Proto-Germanicsparrôa wooden beam, a log
6Proto-Indo-European(s)par-beam, log

via Middle Low German spar

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Low Germanspar—
2Englishsparstonespar
3Middle Englishsparstongypsum, chalk
4Old Englishspærstāngypsum, chalk

Words derived from “spar”

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