sprent

S1P3R1E1N1T1
/spɹɛnt/

verb

To leap; bound; move quickly; dart

OriginMiddle English sprenten ← Old Norse *sprenta ← Proto-Germanic *sprantijaną →
Scrabble 8
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Meanings

sprent1

verbsprent (third-person singular simple present sprents, present participle sprenting, simple past and past participle sprented)

present singular third person sprents · participle present sprenting · participle past sprented · past sprented · alternative sprunt

  1. Northern EnglandScotlanddialectalintransitiveTo leap; bound; move quickly; dart

sprent2

adjectivesprent (comparative more sprent, superlative most sprent)

comparative more sprent · superlative most sprent

  1. archaicSprinkled.

Sprent3

proper noun
  1. A locality in Central Coast Council, northern Tasmania, Australia.

Origin

sprent · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sper-“to twitch; fidget; flinch; jump; be quick”
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sprend-
  3. Proto-Germanic*sprintaną“to jump up; bounce”
  4. Proto-Germanic*sprantijaną
  5. Old Norse*sprenta
  6. Middle Englishsprenten
  7. Englishsprent

From Middle English sprenten, from Old Norse *sprenta (for later spretta), from Proto-Germanic *sprantijaną, causative of Proto-Germanic *sprintaną (“to jump up; bounce”), from Proto-Indo-European *sprend-, *sprendʰ- (“to flinch; jump”), from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to twitch; fidget; flinch; jump; be quick”). Cognate with Middle High German sprenzen (“to sprinkle; splash”), Swedish spritta (“to startle”), Icelandic spretta (“to spring forth; emerge; arise; develop”).

More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

sprent · adjective

  1. Proto-Germanic*sprangijaną
  2. Old Englishsprengan“to cause to spring; scatter”
  3. Middle Englishsprengen“to sprinkle”
  4. Middle Englishsprent
  5. Englishsprent

From Middle English sprent, sprend (“sprinkled”), past participle of Middle English sprengen (“to sprinkle”), from Old English sprengan (“to cause to spring; scatter”), from Proto-Germanic *sprangijaną, causative of *springaną (“to spring; jump”). More at spring.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with sprent

contenteventpresentpercentsentwentrentsaintpreventcentspentextentconsentkentsegmententintentfrequentabsenttentaccentcementbrentfragment
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

sprent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sprent

MLA

“sprent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sprent. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sprent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sprent.

Source: sprent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.