spare

English Online Dictionary. What means spare‎? What does spare mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: spâr, IPA^(key): /ˈspɛə(ɹ)/
• (General American) enPR: spâr, IPA^(key): /ˈspɛɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English spare, spar, from Old English spær (“sparing, scant”), from Proto-Germanic *sparaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sph₁rós, from the root *speh₁-.

Compare Dutch spaar(zaam), German spar(sam) and spär(lich), Swedish spar(sam), Icelandic sparr (“sparing”); also Latin (pro)sperus (“lucky”), Old Church Slavonic споръ (sporŭ, “plentiful”), Albanian shperr (“earn money”), Persian سپار (sepâr, “entrust; deposit”), Ancient Greek σπαρνός (sparnós, “rare”), Sanskrit स्फिर (sphirá, “thick”).

Adjective

spare (comparative sparer, superlative sparest)

1. Scant; not abundant or plentiful.
2. Austere, stripped down, without what is extraneous.
3. Sparing; frugal; parsimonious; not spending much money.
4. Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.
5. Held in reserve, to be used in an emergency.

6. Not occupied or in current use.
8. Lean; lacking flesh; meager; thin; gaunt.
10. (UK, informal) Very angry; frustrated or distraught.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Welsh: sbâr

Translations

Noun

spare (plural spares)

1. The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
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.

   an heir and a spare (dynastic context)
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.
10. (Myanmar) assistant or extra hand (typically on buses and lorries)

Derived terms

Etymology 2

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”).

Verb

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

1. To show mercy, to have mercy on.
   1. (intransitive) To desist; to stop; to refrain.
   2. (intransitive) To refrain from inflicting harm; to use mercy or forbearance.
   3. (transitive) To preserve (someone) from danger or punishment; to forbear to punish, injure, or harm (someone); to show mercy towards.
      1. (specifically) To refrain from killing (someone) or having (someone) killed.
2. To keep.
   1. (intransitive) To be frugal; to not be profuse; to live frugally; to be parsimonious.
   2. (transitive) To keep to oneself; to forbear to impart or give.
   3. (transitive) To save or gain, as by frugality; to reserve, as from some occupation, use, or duty.
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.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Welsh: sbario

Translations

Anagrams

• rapes, après, Pears, prase, as per, Spera, presa, apers, spaer, RESPA, pears, après-, reaps, præs., apres, parse, Rapes, Earps, Asper, Presa, aprés, spear, Spear, Peras, asper, pares, sarpe

Danish

Etymology 1

From English spare. Related to the following verb.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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)

Declension

References

• “spare,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spaːrə/, [ˈsb̥ɑːɑ]
• Homophones: sparer, sparre, sparrer

Verb

spare (past tense sparede, past participle sparet)

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

Conjugation

References

• “spare,2” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

spare

1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of sparen

French

Etymology 1

From Latin sparus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spaʁ/

Noun

spare m (plural spares)

1. a fish of the superorder Acanthopterygii

Etymology 2

From English spare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɛʁ/

Noun

spare m (plural spares)

1. (bowling) a spare

Related terms

• strike

Further reading

• “spare”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Pronunciation

Verb

spare

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

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.re/, [ˈs̠pärɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.re/, [ˈspäːre]

Noun

spare

1. vocative singular of sparus

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

spare

1. Alternative form of sparre

Etymology 2

Verb

spare

1. Alternative form of sparren (“to close”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse spara.

Verb

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

1. to save

Derived terms

• sparebank

References

• “spare” in The Bokmål Dictionary.