Where does “sparse” come from?

Sparse comes from Latin sparsus, the past participle of spargere meaning to scatter or sprinkle, derived from Proto-Indo-European (s)pregʰ-.

sparse (English): Having widely spaced intervals; Not dense;...

Definitions

  1. Having widely spaced intervals; Not dense;...

Ancestry of “sparse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinsparsusscattered, strewn, sprinkled; spotted, freckled
2LatinspargoI scatter, strew, sprinkle
3Proto-Indo-European(s)pregʰ-to scatter, to jerk

Words derived from “sparse”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pregʰ- →Every word from Latin spargo →Every word from Latin sparsus →