An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Sporn

by Friedrich Kluge

Sporn, masculine, Sporen, plural, ‘spur,’ from the equivalent Middle High German spor, spore, Old High German sporo, masculine; corresponding to Dutch spoor, Anglo-Saxon spora, spura, English spur, and the equivalent Old Icelandic spore. From the Teutonic cognates are derived the Romance terms, Italian sprone and French eperon, ‘spur.’ Teutonic sporo, masculine, ‘spur,’ is based on a strong verbal root sper, ‘to kick,’ which is preserved in Modern High German Spur, spüren, and English to spurn, Compare Old High German, Old Saxon, and Anglo-Saxon spurnan, ‘to tread,’ with which Sanscrit sphur, ‘to kick away,’ Greek σπαίρω, ‘to struggle’ (Latin sperno, ‘I despise,’ has a figurative sense), and Lithuanian spìrti, ‘to tread,’ are primitively allied. Compare also Sperling (literally ‘sprawler’?). Since the original sense of the Aryan root sper is ‘to kick,’ Speer cannot be connected with it.