spurn

WOTD - 29 July 2010    

English

Etymology

From Middle English spurnen from Old English spurnan (“to strike against, kick, spurn, reject”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /spəːn/
• (US) IPA: /spɚn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

spurn (third-person singular simple present spurns, present participle spurning, simple past and past participle spurned)

1. (ambitransitive) To reject disdainfully; contemn; scorn.
2. (transitive) To reject something by pushing it away with the foot.
3. (transitive) To waste; fail to make the most of (an opportunity)
   • 2011 September 28, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2 - 1 Olympiakos”, BBC Sport:

     Marouane Chamakh then spurned a great chance to kill the game off when he ran onto Andrey Arshavin's lofted through ball but shanked his shot horribly across the face of goal.

Derived terms

• spurner

Translations

to reject disdainfully

Dutch: versmaden (nl) German: verschmähen (de), abweisen (de), verachten (de) Russian: презрительно (ru) отвергать (ru)

Spanish: desdeñar (es) Turkish: burun kıvırmak (tr), tenezzül etmemek (tr)

to reject by pushing away with the foot

German: mit Füßen treten (de) Russian: пинать (ru)

Turkish: tepmek (tr)

Noun

spurn (plural spurns)

1. An act of spurning; a scornful rejection.
2. A kick.

Translations

an act of spurning; a scornful rejection

Russian: презрительный (ru) отказ (ru) m.

a kick

Russian: пинок (ru) m.

Turkish: çifte (tr)