An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/sparen

by Friedrich Kluge

sparen, verb, ‘to save, economise, lay up,’ from Middle High German sparn, Old High German sparôn, ‘to save, spare, preserve, lay up,’ Denominative of Old High German spar, ‘thrifty’ (Anglo-Saxon spœr, for which sparsam, ‘thrifty,’ first occurs in Modern High German; Middle High German spęrlîche, ‘in a frugal manner,’ is the corresponding adverb, but it was changed in Modern High German into an adjective, spärlich, ‘frugal’); in Old High German sparhęnti, Anglo-Saxon spœrhęnde, ‘thrifty.’ Compare Dutch sparen, Anglo-Saxon sparian, English to spare, Old Icelandic spara, No connection with Greek σπαρνός, ‘scarce, few, seldom’ (allied to σπείρω, ‘to sow, scatter’), is conceivable.