Where does “spare” come from?
Spare comes from Old English spær, from Proto-Germanic sparōną, from Proto-Indo-European sper-.
spare (English): Scant; not abundant or plentiful; Sparing;...
Definitions
- Scant; not abundant or plentiful; Sparing;...
Ancestry of “spare”, step by step
spare traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English spare
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | spare | — |
| 2 | Old English | spær | scanty |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | sparaz | sparing, frugal |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | sper- | to fidget, twitch; to push; to be quick; to... |
via Middle English sparen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sparen | — |
| 2 | Old English | sparian | to spare |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | sparōną | Alternative form of *sparāną |
Words derived from “spare”