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Origin and history of spar

spar(n.1)

early 14c., sparre, "common rafter of a roof;" late 14c., "stout, long pole," from or cognate with Middle Low German or Middle Dutch sparre, from Proto-Germanic *sparron (source also of Old English *spere "spear, lance," in place-names; Old Norse sperra "rafter, beam," German Sparren "spar, rafter"), from PIE root *sper- (1) "spear, pole" (see spear (n.1)).

In nautical use, "piece of timber used on a ship," mid-14c.; the specific sense in reference to a stout, round pole used as a mast, yard, boom, etc., dates from 1630s. The Germanic word also was borrowed in Old French as esparre, which might be the direct source of the English word.

also from early 14c.

spar(v.)

late 14c., sparren, "go quickly, rush, dart, spring;" c. 1400, "to strike or thrust," a word of uncertain origin.

Perhaps [Barnhart] from French esparer "to kick" (Modern French éparer), from Italian sparare "to fling," from Latin ex- (see ex-) + parare "make ready, prepare," hence "ward off, parry" (from PIE root *pere- (1) "to produce, procure"). But this is a late word in French (17c.). Middle English Compendium points to Old English sperran "to strike," in Middle English "to strike a horse with spurs," which is of uncertain origin. Etymologists seem to consider connection to spur unlikely.

Used in 17c. in reference to preliminary actions in a cock fight; figurative sense of "to dispute, bandy with words" is from 1690s but is not certainly the same word. Extension to humans, in a literal sense, with meaning "to engage in or practice boxing, make the motions of attack and defense as in fist-fighting" is attested from 1755. Related: Sparred; sparring.

also from late 14c.

spar(n.2)

old general term for a crystalline mineral that breaks easily into fragments with smooth surfaces, 1580s, from Low German Spar, from Middle Low German *spar, *sper, cognate with Old English spær- in spærstan "gypsum" (Middle English spær ston).

also from 1580s

Entries linking to spar

spear(n.1)

"weapon with a penetrating head and a long wooden shaft, meant to be thrust or thrown," Middle English spere, from Old English spere "spear, javelin, lance," from Proto-Germanic *sperō (source also of Old Norse spjör, Old Saxon sper, Old Frisian sper, spiri, Dutch speer, Old High German sper, German Speer "spear").

This has been traced to a PIE root *sper- (1) "spear, pole," (source also of Old Norse sparri "spar, rafter," and perhaps also Albanian shparr "oak," Latin sparus "hunting spear." Boutkan writes that "The etymon remains limited to the European languages and may represent a non-IE substrate word." De Vaan writes in his entry on sparus that the source of the group is "possibly a loanword, or an isolated reflex of a lost root."

spur(n.)

Middle English spore, from Old English spura, spora "spiked metal implement worn on the heel to goad a horse" (related to spurnan "to kick"), from Proto-Germanic *spuron (source also of Old Norse spori, Middle Dutch spore, Dutch spoor, Old High German sporo, German Sporn "spur"), from PIE *spere- "ankle" (see spurn). Related to Dutch spoor, Old English spor "track, footprint, trace" (compare spoor).

The generalized sense of "anything that goads or urges on, a stimulus," is from late 14c. As a sharp projection on the leg of a cock, from mid-13c. Extended generally 16c. to other projecting things. The meaning "ridge projecting off a mountain mass" is recorded from 1650s. Of railway lines from 1837.

"Widely extended senses ... are characteristic of a horsey race" [Weekley]. Expression spur of the moment (1782) preserves archaic phrase on the spur "in great haste" (1520s).

Gilded spurs were noted by early 13c. as the distinctive mark of a knight. Hence win one's spurs (early 15c.) "gain knighthood by some valorous act." To be spurless in Middle English (sporles) was to be "without spurs, stripped of noble or knightly rank."