sprit en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /spɹɪt/
Etymology
From Middle English sprete, from Old English sprēot (“pole, pike, spear”), from Proto-Germanic *spreut, related to Proto-West Germanic *sprutō (“shoot, sprout”). Cognate with West Frisian spriet (“sprit, spoke”), Dutch spriet (“a sprit, blade, spar, shoot, sprig”), Middle High German spriez (“sprout, twig”).
Meanings
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A spar between mast and upper outer corner of a spritsail on sailing boats.
... and in the luminous space the tanned sails of the barges drifting up with the tide seemed to stand still in red clusters of canvas sharply peaked, with gleams of varnished sprits.
1899, Joseph Conrad, chapter 1, in Heart of Darkness:
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A shoot; a sprout.
the Maltſter will ſtir his Barley Couches till the Sprit begins to fork , five or ſix times a day or more ; it being always his Care to keep them from drying too much on the outſides
1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| sprits | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Hyponyms
bowsprit (supporting spar in spritsail rig)
Translations (12)
fi varpatanko (supporting spar in spritsail rig) · lv šprits (supporting spar in spritsail rig) · he מוֹט (supporting spar in spritsail rig) · mi tākotokoto (supporting spar in spritsail rig) · liv sprīt (supporting spar in spritsail rig) · nrf sprède (supporting spar in spritsail rig) · mi tītoko (supporting spar in spritsail rig) · pl rozprza (supporting spar in spritsail rig) · mi tātākoto (supporting spar in spritsail rig) · ru шпринто́в (supporting spar in spritsail rig) · mi kihau (supporting spar in spritsail rig) · nrf sprède du grand mât (supporting spar in spritsail rig)