See also: spanna and spaņņa

Swedish

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Etymology

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From Old Swedish spänna, from Old Norse spenna, from Proto-Germanic *spannijaną, causative of *spannaną (to stretch, to span). Cognate with Danish spænde, and Middle Low German spennen.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /spɛnːa/
  • Audio:(file)

Verb

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spänna (present spänner, preterite spände, supine spänt, imperative spänn)

  1. to tighten, to tense (make tense or taut, of muscles, a rope, a spring, or the like)
    Han spände sina stora muskler
    He flexed his big muscles
    spänna öronen
    to cock one's ears
  2. to pull (the string of) a bow or crossbow
    Det är skönare lyss till en sträng, som brast, än att aldrig spänna en båge
    It is nobler to hear a string, that snapped, than never to pull a bow
  3. to fasten (a belt), to clamp (put in a spanner), to strap on (skies etc.)
    spänna för hästen
    hitch a horse, harness the horse
  4. to span (to extend across)
    Bron spänner över floden
    The bridge spans across the river
    Boken spänner över tre sekel
    The book spans across three centuries
  5. to build a bridge
    Över Ljungan spändes tvenne nya broar
    Across the Ljungan two new bridges were built
  6. (dated, dialect) to kick, to jump
    en fåle spänner med foten
    a pony kicks with its foot
  7. (vulgar, usually of males, with ) to bang (have sex with)
    Jag spände på en riktig pudding igår
    I banged a real hottie yesterday
  8. (slang) to spend (time or money)

Conjugation

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References

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