Etymology

spear

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Today it means: A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion. Full definition →

Middle English spere ← Old English spere ← Proto-West Germanic *speru
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spear · noun, verb, adjective1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sperH-
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*speru
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*speru
  4. Old English · inherited fromspere
  5. Middle English · inherited fromspere
  6. English todayspear

From Middle English spere, sperre, spear, from Old English spere, from Proto-West Germanic *speru, from Proto-Germanic *speru, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH-. Cognates See also West Frisian spear, Dutch speer, German Speer, Old Norse spjǫr, *sparrô, Middle Dutch sparre (“rafter”), Old Norse sparri (“spar, rafter”), sperra (“rafter, beam”); also Latin sparus (“short spear”), Albanian ferrë (“thorn, thornbush”).

spear · noun2

  1. Old English · inherited fromspīr“stalk of a plant, shoot, blade”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromspyre
  3. English todayspear

Alteration of spire, from Middle English spyre, spier, spir, from Old English spīr (“stalk of a plant, shoot, blade”). More at spire.

Spear · proper noun3

  1. Old English · inherited fromspere“spear”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromspere“spear”
  3. English todaySpear

From Middle English spere (“spear”), from Old English spere (“spear”), variously intending a spearman, a spearmaker, or a person tall and thin in a way reminiscent of a spear.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishspere all →

spherespeare

Old Englishspere all →

speare

Proto-Indo-European*sperH- all →

spurspurn

Old Englishspīr all →

spire

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.