Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “spannen” come from?

spannen (German) comes from Middle High German spannen, from Old High German spannan, from Proto-Germanic spannaną — to stretch, span.

spannen (German): to stretch; to tighten; to tension

Definitions

  1. to stretch; to tighten; to tension

Ancestry of “spannen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanspannento stretch, tighten
2Old High Germanspannan—
3Proto-Germanicspannanąto stretch, span

Words derived from “spannen”

  • Spann
  • Schuhspanner
  • Flügelspannweite
  • entspannen
  • Schnellspanner
  • Spanner
  • Entspannung
  • Spannweite
  • шпанати
  • španati
  • šponovat
Every word from Proto-Germanic spannaną →