spray

spray · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(s)per-“to sow, scatter”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*sprēwijaną“to spray, sprinkle”
3. Middle Dutch · derived fromsprāien
4. English todayspray

From Middle Dutch sprāien, sprayen, spraeyen (“to spray, sprinkle, spread”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sprēwijaną (“to spray, sprinkle”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)per- (“to sow, scatter”). Cognate with Middle High German spræjen, spræwen (“to squirt, spray, dust, splash, straw”), Danish dialectal språe (“to open up, burst forth”), Swedish dialectal språ (“to sprout, shoot forth, burst”), Norwegian dialectal spra, spræ (“to splash, splatter, spout, burst forth”), Dutch sproeien (“to spray, sprinkle”), German sprühen (“to spray, sparkle”).

spray · noun²

1. Old English · inherited from*spræġ
2. Middle English · inherited fromspray
3. English todayspray

From Middle English spray, from Old English *spræġ, sprei (found in place names such as that of Spreyton, England), of unknown origin. Compare English sprig (“shoot, twig”).

Words from the same roots