Meanings
comparative more span-new · superlative most span-new · alternative spang-new
- archaicbrand new
The newes he tels you, is of some new flesh, Lately broke vp, span new, hote piping fresh
1925 [1598], John Marston, The Scourge of Villanie, page 1132 more examples
Had Augustine been archbishop of London, he might have seemed to succeed the British archbishops, and to have derived some right from them, contrary to his humour, who would lead all, but follow none; and therefore would not wear an old title, but have a span-new archbishop's chair carved out for himself.
1655, Thomas Fuller, “Section II. The Seventh Century.”, in The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI)[H]e was very nicely dressed, and wore a span-new velvet vest, a real English broadcloth coat, gold watch with gold seals; […]
1845, [William Gilmore Simms], “The Last Wager, or The Gamester of the Mississippi”, in The Wigwam and the Cabin (Wiley and Putnam’s Library of American Books), first series, New York, N.Y.: Wiley and Putnam, […], chapter III, page 84Synonyms: fire-new
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivebrand new
Origin
- Old Norsespān-nȳr
- Middle Englishspan-neue
- Englishspan-new
From Middle English span-neue, from Old Norse spān-nȳr. Compare spick-and-span, spandy.
More words from Middle English, Old Norse
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
span-new. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/span-new
“span-new.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/span-new. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “span-new,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/span-new.
Source: span-new on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.