Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/364

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used. Comp. Du. splinter, and the equiv. E. splint, splinter, derived from the nasalised root.

Spor, m., ‘mould,’ allied to MidHG. spœr, ‘dry, rough,’ OHG. spôri, ‘mellow, rotten’; cognate terms are wanting.

Sporn, m., Sporen, plur., ‘spur,’ from the equiv. MidHG. spor, spore, OHG. sporo, m.; corresponding to Du. spoor, AS. spora, spura, E. spur, and the equiv. OIc. spore. From the Teut. cognates are derived the Rom. terms, Ital. sprone and Fr. eperon, ‘spur.’ Teut. sporo, m., ‘spur,’ is based on a str. verbal root sper, ‘to kick,’ which is preserved in ModHG. Spur, spüren, and E. to spurn, Comp. OHG., OSax., and AS. spurnan, ‘to tread,’ with which Sans. sphur, ‘to kick away,’ Gr. σπαίρω, ‘to struggle’ (Lat. sperno, ‘I despise,’ has a figurative sense), and Lith. spìrti, ‘to tread,’ are primit. allied. Comp. also Sperling (lit. ‘sprawler’?). Since the orig. sense of the Aryan root sper is ‘to kick,’ Speer cannot be connected with it.

Sporteln, plur., ‘fees, perquisites,’ ModHG. only, formed from the equiv. Ital. sportula.

Spott, m., ‘mockery, banter, scorn, laughing-stock,’ from MidHG. and OHG. spot (gen. spottes), m., ‘mockery, scorn, disgrace’; its early occurrence in OHG. shows that it is a genuine HG. word. It is remarkable that the LG. dials. have a medial tt in the corresponding words; comp. Du. spot, OIc. spott, n., ‘mockery.’ ModHG. and MidHG. spotten, ‘to mock, scoff at,’ OHG. spottôn, equiv. to Du. spotten and OIc spotta. The cognates seem to imply a Goth. *spuþþôn (for Goth. þþ, equiv. to HG. tt, see Schmiede), whose origin cannot be discovered. Lat. spûtum is scarcely allied.

Sprache, f., ‘speech, language, utterance,’ from the equiv. MidHG. sprâche, OHG. sprâhha. An abstract of sprechen (comp. AS. sprœ̂č), ‘to speak, say, utter,’ which comes from the equiv. MidHG. sprëchen, OHG. sprëhhan, a str. vb. peculiar to the West Teut. languages; comp. OSax. sprëkan, Du. spreken, AS. sprëcan. The corresponding E. to speak (and speech), from AS. spëcan (and spœ̂č), points to a Teut. root spek, which appears also in MidHG. spëhten, ‘to chatter.’ The Teut. root sprek has no cognates in the non-Teut. languages; it is perhaps related to Sans. sphûrj, ‘to rustle.’ For an obsolete term, also mean-

ing ‘to speak,’ see under Beichte; the current term in the UpG. dials. is reden.

Sprehe, f., ‘starling,’ ModHG. only, prop. a LG. word; comp. OSax. sprâ, Du. spreeuw, North Fris. sprïan, ‘starling.’ Origin obscure. From an OTeut. dial. the equiv. OFr. esprohon was borrowed.

spreiten, vb., ‘to spread, strew,’ from MidHG. and OHG. spreiten, wk. vb., ‘to unfold’; a primary form also occurs, MidHG. sprîten, sprîden, ‘to spread.’ Comp. Du. spreiden, spreijen, AS. sprœ̂dan, E. to spread. The Teut. root sprī̆þ has not yet been found in the non-Teut. languages; no connection with breit is possible.

spreizen, vb., ‘to spread open, stride,’ earlier ModHG. spreutzen, lit. ‘to stretch upwards like a prop or buttress,’ from MidHG. and OHG. spriutzen ‘to prop. support.’ Allied to MidHG. spriuȥ, ‘buttress,’ which is derived from the stem of sprietzen.

Sprengel, m., ‘sprinkling brush; diocese, jurisdiction,’ from MidHG. spręngel, m., ‘brush for sprinkling holy water, sprinkle,’ with a remarkable change of meaning. —

sprengen, vb., ‘to burst, break open, blow up,’ from MidHG. and OHG. spręngen, ‘to cause to spring,’ is a causative of springen.

Sprenkel (1.), m., ‘springe, noose, snare,’ ModHG. only, from LG.; comp. Du. sprenkel, ‘loop in a cable.’ The latter, like OHG. sprinka, MidHG. sprinke, f., ‘bird-trap,’ is based on a prim. form springjô, from which E. springe is also derived. This prim. form is probably cognate with Lith. sprìngti, ‘to choke,’ sprangùs, ‘choking,’ Lett. sprangāt, ‘to cord, confine.’

Sprenkel (2.), m., ‘speck, spot,’ from MidHG. (MidG.) spręnkel, sprinkel, m., ‘spot,’ for which in MidHG. a form sprëckel without a nasal is used (also *sprünkel in sprünkelëht, ‘spotted’), allied to Ic. sprekla, Swed. spräkla, ‘little spot,’ Swiss šprigel, šprägel. These cognates may be connected with E. to freak, freckle, and further with Gr. περκνός, Sans. pṛçni, ‘spotted, variegated,’ if sprek (spreg) and prek (preg) be regarded as the Aryan roots (with regard to the interchange of sp and p, comp. that of st and t under drosseln and Stier). In that case there would probably be no historic connection between sprenkeln and springen.

Spreu, f., ‘chaff,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. spriu (gen. spriuwes), n.