spare

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See also: spāre

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

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”)).

Adjective

spare (comparative sparer, superlative sparest)

  1. Scanty; 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; chary.
    • (Can we date this quote by Carew and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      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 over and above what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.
    I have no spare time.
    • (Can we date this quote by Spenser and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      if that no spare clothes he had to give
  4. Held in reserve, to be used in an emergency.
    a spare anchor; a spare bed or room
  5. Lean; wanting flesh; meager; thin; gaunt.
  7. (UK, 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.
  8. (obsolete, UK, dialect) Slow.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Grose to this entry?)
Derived terms
Derived terms

Template:der-mid

Translations

Noun

spare (plural spares)

  1. The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
    • (Can we date this quote by Holland and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      Killing for sacrifice, without any spare.
  2. Parsimony; frugal use.
    • (Can we date this quote by Spenser and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      Poured out their plenty without spite or spare.
  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 2

From Middle English sparen, sparien, from Old English sparian (“to spare, show mercy to, refrain from injuring or destroying”), from Proto-Germanic *sparōną, *sparjaną (“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

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  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.
Translations

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology 1

From English spare.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /spɛːr/, [ˈsb̥æːɐ̯]

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)
Inflection
Declension of spare
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative spare sparen spare
spares 		sparene
genitive spares sparens spares
spares' 		sparenes

Etymology 2

From Old Norse spara.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /spaːrə/, [ˈsb̥ɑːɑ]

Verb

spare (imperative spar, infinitive at spare, present tense sparer, past tense sparede, perfect tense er/har sparet)

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

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

spare

  1. (deprecated template usage) (archaic) singular present subjunctive of sparen

French

Etymology 1

From Latin sparus

Pronunciation

Noun

spare m (plural spares)

  1. A fish of the superorder Acanthopterygii

Etymology 2

From English spare

Pronunciation

Noun

spare m (plural spares)

  1. (bowling) a spare.

Related terms

German

Verb

spare

  1. (deprecated template usage) First-person singular present of sparen.
  2. (deprecated template usage) First-person singular subjunctive I of sparen.
  3. (deprecated template usage) Third-person singular subjunctive I of sparen.
  4. (deprecated template usage) Imperative singular of sparen.

Italian

Verb

spare

  1. third-person singular present indicative of sparere

Anagrams

Latin

Noun

(deprecated template usage) spare

  1. vocative singular of sparus

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

References

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