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
- Having widely spaced intervals; Not dense;...
Ancestry of “sparse”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | sparsus | scattered, strewn, sprinkled; spotted, freckled |
| 2 | Latin | spargo | I scatter, strew, sprinkle |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pregʰ- | to scatter, to jerk |
Words derived from “sparse”