spare

spare · adjective, noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*sph₁rós
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*sparaz
3. Old English · inherited fromspær“sparing, scant”
4. Middle English · inherited fromspare
5. English todayspare

From Middle English spare, spar, from Old English spær (“sparing, scant”), from Proto-Germanic *sparaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sph₁rós, from the root *speh₁-. Compare Dutch spaar(zaam), German spar(sam) and spär(lich), Swedish spar(sam), Icelandic sparr (“sparing”); also Latin (pro)sperus (“lucky”), Old Church Slavonic споръ (sporŭ, “plentiful”), Albanian shperr (“earn money”), Persian سپار (sepâr, “entrust; deposit”), Ancient Greek σπαρνός (sparnós, “rare”), Sanskrit स्फिर (sphirá, “thick”).

spare · verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sper-“to be productive, earn”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*sparōną
3. Old English · derived fromsparian“to spare, show mercy to, refrain from injuring or destroying”
4. Middle English · derived fromsparen
5. English todayspare

From Middle English sparen, sparien, from Old English sparian (“to spare, show mercy to, refrain from injuring or destroying”), from Proto-Germanic *sparōną, *sparāną (“to save, keep, spare”), from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to be productive, earn”). Cognate with Scots spar, spare, spair (“to spare”), West Frisian sparje (“to save, spare”), Dutch sparen (“to save, spare”), German sparen (“to save, conserve, economise”), Swedish spara (“to save, save up”), Icelandic spara (“to save, conserve”).

Spare · proper noun³

From spare, a nickname for a frugal person.

Words from the same roots