spare

See also: spāre

EnglishEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Middle English spare, spar, from Old English spær (“sparing, scant”), from Proto-Germanic *sparaz (compare with Dutch spaar(zaam), German spar(sam) and spär(lich), Swedish spar(sam), Icelandic sparr (“sparing”)), from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (compare Latin (pro)sperus (“lucky”), Old Church Slavonic споръ (sporŭ, “plentiful”), Albanian shperr (“earn money”), Persian سپار‎ (sepār, “entrust; deposit”), Ancient Greek σπαρνός (sparnós, “rare”), Sanskrit स्फिर (sphirá, “thick”)).

AdjectiveEdit

spare (comparative sparer, superlative sparest)

  1. Scant; not abundant or plentiful.
    a spare diet
    • 2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club‎[1]:
      Jones’ sad eyes betray a pervasive pain his purposefully spare dialogue only hints at, while the perfectly cast Brolin conveys hints of playfulness and warmth while staying true to the craggy stoicism at the character’s core.
  2. Sparing; frugal; parsimonious; not spending much money.
    • 1602, Richard Carew, Survey of Cornwall
      He was spare, […] but discreet of speech.
    • 2009 April 12, Phil Patton, “At VW, the Italian Accent Gets Stronger”, in New York Times‎[2]:
      Under Hartmut Warkuss, its design director until 2003, Volkswagen styling celebrated its Teutonic origins and the spare modernist tradition expressed in Braun radios and coffee makers, reference points for the neomodern simplicity of the iPod.
  3. Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.
    I have no spare time.
  4. Held in reserve, to be used in an emergency.
    a spare anchor; a spare wheel or tyre
  5. Not occupied or in current use.
    We could rent out the spare room.
    • 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:
      As the 1857 to Manchester Piccadilly rolls in, I scan the windows and realise there are plenty of spare seats, so I hop aboard. The train is a '221'+'220' combo to allow for social distancing - a luxury on an XC train as normally you're playing sardines, so I make the most of it.
  6. Lean; lacking flesh; meager; thin; gaunt.
  8. (Britain, informal) Very angry; frustrated or distraught.
    When he found out that someone had broken the window, he went spare.
    The poor girl is going spare, stuck in the house all day with the kids like that.
    • 2006, Tate Hallaway, Tall, Dark & Dead:
      “That'll drive him spare.”
    • 2013, David Ovason, The Zelator:
      My grandfather (unaware that he was using antique terms) would often say ruefully that I would drive him spare. The idea was that my behaviour would so dement him as to drive him berserk.
  9. (obsolete, Britain, dialect) Slow.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Grose to this entry?)
Derived termsEdit
Derived terms
TranslationsEdit

NounEdit

spare (plural spares)

  1. The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
    • 1600, Philemon Holland, The Romane Historie
      men slaine, then without any spare at all they trampled over the dead carkasses
  2. Parsimony; frugal use.
  3. An opening in a petticoat or gown; a placket.
  4. That which has not been used or expended.
  5. A spare part, especially a spare tire.
  6. A superfluous or second-best person, specially (in a dynastic context) in the phrase "An heir and a spare".
  7. (bowling) The right of bowling again at a full set of pins, after having knocked all the pins down in less than three bowls. If all the pins are knocked down in one bowl it is a double spare; in two bowls, a single spare.
  8. (bowling) The act of knocking down all remaining pins in second ball of a frame; this entitles the pins knocked down on the next ball to be added to the score for that frame.
  9. (Canada) A free period; a block of school during which one does not have a class.
    • 2010, Sandra Rinomato, Realty Check: Real Estate Secrets for First-Time Canadian Home Buyers:
      I also remember watching David Letterman's short-lived morning show on TV when I had a spare during my school schedule.

Etymology 2Edit

From Middle English sparen, sparien, from Old English sparian (“to spare, show mercy to, refrain from injuring or destroying”), from Proto-Germanic *sparōną, *sparāną (“to save, keep, spare”), from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to be productive, earn”). Cognate with Scots spar, spare, spair (“to spare”), West Frisian sparje (“to save, spare”), Dutch sparen (“to save, spare”), German sparen (“to save, conserve, economise”), Swedish spara (“to save, save up”), Icelandic spara (“to save, conserve”).

VerbEdit

spare (third-person singular simple present spares, present participle sparing, simple past and past participle spared)

  1. To show mercy.
    1. (intransitive) To desist; to stop; to refrain.
    2. (intransitive) To refrain from inflicting harm; to use mercy or forbearance.
    3. (transitive) To preserve from danger or punishment; to forbear to punish, injure, or harm; to show mercy.
  2. To keep.
    1. (intransitive) To be frugal; not to be profuse; to live frugally; to be parsimonious.
      • 1737, Alexander Pope, The Second Epistle of the Second Book of Horace, Imitated by Mr. Pope:
        I, who at some times spend, at others spare, / Divided between carelessness and care.
    2. (transitive) To keep to oneself; to forbear to impart or give.
      Spare the rod and spoil the child.
    3. (transitive) To save or gain, as by frugality; to reserve, as from some occupation, use, or duty.
      • 1610, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes, from the First Beginning of that Nation‎[3], page 580:
        All the time he could spare from the necessary cares of his weighty charge, from assaults, and the naturall refreshing of his body, be bestowed in praier and seruing of God
  3. (transitive) (to give up): To deprive oneself of, as by being frugal; to do without; to dispense with; to give up; to part with.
    • a. 1779, Earl of Roscommon, “The Twenty-second Ode of the First Book of Horace”:
      Where angry Jove did never spare / One breath of kind and temperate air.
    • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The History of Henry the Fourth (Part 1), Act V, scene iv:
      Poor Jack, farewell! / I could have better spared a better man
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 22, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. […] Next day she […] tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head. Then, thwarted, the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in the law, and had perhaps spared no pains to keep on good terms with the local constabulary.
    • 1960 April, “Talking of Trains: The present difficulties”, in Trains Illustrated, page 193:
      At Southall, we believe, it has been difficult to spare men from an understaffed motive power establishment to undergo non revenue-earning training on the diesel multiple-units, because crews are scarce for trip freight working.
TranslationsEdit

AnagramsEdit

DanishEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From English spare. Related to the following verb.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /spɛːr/, [ˈsb̥ɛɐ̯], [ˈsb̥æɐ̯]

NounEdit

spare c (singular definite sparen, plural indefinite spare or spares)

  1. (bowling) spare (the act of knocking down all remaining pins in second ball of a frame)
InflectionEdit
Declension of spare
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative spare sparen spare
spares 		sparene
genitive spares sparens spares
spares' 		sparenes

ReferencesEdit

Etymology 2Edit

From Old Norse spara, from Proto-Germanic *sparāną, cognate with Swedish spara, English spare, German sparen.

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

spare (past tense sparede, past participle sparet)

  1. to save
  2. to spare
  3. to economize
  4. to save up

InflectionEdit

Inflection of spare
present past
simple sparer sparede
perfect har sparet havde sparet
passive spares sparedes
participle sparende sparet
imperative spar —
infinitive spare —
auxiliary verb have —
gerund sparen —

ReferencesEdit

DutchEdit

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

spare

  1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of sparen

FrenchEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Latin sparus

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

spare m (plural spares)

  1. A fish of the superorder Acanthopterygii

Etymology 2Edit

From English spare

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

spare m (plural spares)

  1. (bowling) a spare.

Related termsEdit

GermanEdit

VerbEdit

spare

  1. inflection of sparen:
    1. first-person singular present
    2. first/third-person singular subjunctive I
    3. singular imperative

ItalianEdit

VerbEdit

spare

  1. third-person singular present indicative of sparere

AnagramsEdit

LatinEdit

NounEdit

spare

  1. vocative singular of sparus

Norwegian BokmålEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Norse spara

VerbEdit

spare (imperative spar, present tense sparer, passive spares, simple past sparte, past participle spart, present participle sparende)

  1. to save

Derived termsEdit

ReferencesEdit

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