sprig en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /spɹɪɡ/
- (US) audio
Etymology
From Middle English sprig, sprigge, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Middle Low German sprik, spricke (“a dry, easily broken twig that has fallen from a tree; sprig”). Compare also dialectal English sprag (“sprig, twig”), English spray (“branch”), Old English spræc (“a shoot”), German Low German Spricke, Sprick (“dry branch, twig”).
Meanings
-
A small shoot or twig of a tree or other plant; a spray.
a sprig of laurel or of parsley
[…] from this bush in the dooryard, / With delicate-color’d blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green, / A sprig with its flower I break.
1865, Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, in Sequel to Drum-Taps: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d and other poems:“Why, one sprig of nut grass can ruin a whole yard.[…]"
1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:
- An ornament resembling a small shoot or twig.
- One of the separate pieces of lace fastened on a ground in applique lace.
-
(derogatory, humorous, mildly, sometimes) A youth; a lad.
a sprig whom I remember, with a whey-face and a satchel, not so many years ago
1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:
- A brad, or nail without a head.
- A small eyebolt ragged or barbed at the point.
- A house sparrow.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| sprigs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
spriglet · sprigtail · spriggy
Translations (52)
cs větvička (small shoot or twig) · no trådstift (brad) · no oppkomling (youth) · ckb تەڵ (small shoot or twig) · fi lehvä (small shoot or twig) · bg клонче (small shoot or twig) · de Büschel (small shoot or twig) · hy շիվ (small shoot or twig) · fi havu (small shoot or twig) · de Büschchen (small shoot or twig) · es muchacho (youth) · fi silmäruuvi (small eyebolt ragged or barbed at the point) · pl gałązka (small shoot or twig) · no kvist (small shoot or twig) · de junger Hüpfer (youth) · no jypling (youth) · fi pala (piece of lace) · ru побе́г (small shoot or twig) · sv kvist (small shoot or twig) · no dusk (of parsely) (small shoot or twig) · no stift (brad) · fi vesa (youth) · pl latorośl (youth) · hu ágacska (small shoot or twig) · no bukett (small shoot or twig) · no liten grein (small shoot or twig) · ru ве́точка (small shoot or twig) · fi verso (small shoot or twig) · bg щифт (brad) · sv bladornament (ornament) · ru о́тпрыск (youth) · no spire (youth) · bg вейка (small shoot or twig) · it rametto (small shoot or twig) · ar عَسْلُوج (small shoot or twig) · es ramita (small shoot or twig) · fr brin (small shoot or twig) · fi kersa (youth) · no dykkert (brad) · no dykker (brad) · fr rameau (small shoot or twig) · cs hřebíček bez hlavy (brad) · bg младеж (youth) · fi uppokantanaula (brad) · oc ramelet (small shoot or twig) · fi dyckert-naula (brad) · cs snítka (small shoot or twig) · fi lehvä (ornament) · de Zweiglein (small shoot or twig) · te రెమ్మ (small shoot or twig) · fi oksa (small shoot or twig) · mi tākupu (small shoot or twig)