sprung

See also: Sprung and šprung

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈspɹʌŋ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈspɹʌŋ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌŋ

Verb

sprung

1. simple past and past participle of spring
   • 1811, [Jane Austen], chapter XII, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume III, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 245:

     “When do you write to Colonel Brandon, ma’am?” was an enquiry which sprung from the impatience of her mind to have something going on.

Adjective

sprung (comparative more sprung, superlative most sprung)

1. Fitted or cushioned with springs.

   Near-synonym: spring-loaded

   a sprung mattress

   the sprung weight of a vehicle

2. (of a spring or other springy object) Worn out such that the springiness has dissipated.

   My old money clip was sprung, so I replaced it.

3. (slang, African-American Vernacular) Utterly infatuated with someone; completely taken over by romantic interest; originally and literally, having a penile erection.
   • 1992, “Baby Got Back”, in Sir Mix-a-Lot (music), Mack Daddy:

     I like big butts and I cannot lie. / You other brothers can’t deny / that when a girl walks in / with a itty bitty waist / and a round thing in your face you get sprung.

   • 2003, “Crazy In Love”, in Beyoncé et al. (music), Dangerously in Love:

     […] / ’Cause your love got the best of me, / And baby, you’re making a fool of me. / You got me sprung and I don’t care who sees, / ’Cause baby, you got me so crazy.

   • 2005, “Sprung”, in Mariah Carey et al. (music), The Emancipation of Mimi, bonus track in some editions:

     ’Cause I’m sprung over you / And ain’t nothin’ I can do / […] / Thoughts of you fill my head / […]

   • 2009, “Sugar”, in Flo Rida et al. (music), R.O.O.T.S.:

     My lips like sugar. / This candy got you sprung.

4. (Australia, slang) Caught doing something illegal or against the rules.
   • 1979, Gabrielle Carey, Kathy Lette, Puberty Blues, page 46:

     `Sprung!' cried Jeff Basin, the local dubbo.

5. (slang, dated) drunk.
6. (obsolete, nautical, of a spar) cracked or strained.

Usage notes

• The adjective sprung, unlike (say) infatuated, does not normally take a complement; a person may be infatuated with someone, but is simply sprung. As with crazy or gaga, the target of the emotion is normally indicated by surrounding context; this is seen in the 1992 and 2003 quotations above. However, while relatively uncommon, it is possible for sprung to take a complement, construed with a preposition such as over (much like gaga); this is seen in the 2005 quotation above.

Synonyms

• (infatuated): smitten, taken; see also Thesaurus:in love
• (caught doing something illegal): caught with a hand in the cookie jar, red-handed
• (cracked or strained): crazed, splintered; see also Thesaurus:broken
• (drunk): See Thesaurus:drunk

Antonyms

• unsprung

Derived terms

• coil-sprung
• leaf-sprung

Translations

Utterly infatuated with someone

• German: hoffnungslos verknallt

Caught doing something against the rules

• German: erwischt (de)

See also

• (infatuation) boing

References

• (drunk): 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary

Middle English

Noun

sprung

1. (Early Middle English, West Midlands) Alternative form of spryng

Old High German

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sprungi, from Proto-Germanic *sprungiz, related to *springaną. Compare Dutch sprong.

Noun

sprung m

1. jump

Declension

Declension of sprung (masculine a-stem)

case	singular	plural
nominative	sprung	sprunga
accusative	sprung	sprunga
genitive	sprunges	sprungo
dative	sprunge	sprungum
instrumental	sprungu	—

Descendants

• Middle High German: sprung
  • German: Sprung

References

1. Köbler, Gerhard, Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, (6. Auflage) 2014