Where does “spick-and-span” come from?
spick-and-span (English) comes from English spick, from English speak, from Middle English speke, from Old English specan, from Old English sprecan, from Proto-West Germanic *sprekan, from Proto-Germanic sprekaną, from Proto-Indo-European spreg- — to make a sound, speak; to make a sound, utter,...
spick-and-span (English): Clean, spotless; original sense “like new”
Definitions
- Clean, spotless; original sense “like new”
Ancestry of “spick-and-span”, step by step
spick-and-span traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English spick
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | spick | A Latino/Hispanic person; nail, a spike; tidy;... |
| 2 | English | speak | To communicate with one's voice, to say words out... |
| 3 | Middle English | speke | — |
| 4 | Old English | specan | Alternative form of sprecan; to speak |
| 5 | Old English | sprecan | to speak, talk |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *sprekan | to speak |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | sprekaną | to speak, to make a noise |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | spreg- | to make a sound, speak; to make a sound, utter,... |