Where does “spence” come from?
spence (Middle English) comes from Middle French despense, from Late Latin dispensa, from Latin dīspendō, from Latin pandō, from Latin pandus, from Latin -us, from Old Latin -os, from Proto-Italic -os — Creates agent nouns from verb stems, denoting...
Ancestry of “spence”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | despense | — |
| 2 | Late Latin | dispensa | — |
| 3 | Latin | dīspendō | to dispense, distribute |
| 4 | Latin | pandō | to spread or open (out), extend |
| 5 | Latin | pandus | bend, crooked, curved; bent, crooked |
| 6 | Latin | -us | suffix forming adjectives from nouns, verbs,... |
| 7 | Old Latin | -os | accusative masculine plural of -us |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -os | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -ós | Creates agent nouns from verb stems, denoting... |