close
Jump to content

span

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Appendix:Variations of "span"

English

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend-der.
Proto-Germanic *spannō
Old English spann
Middle English spanne
English span

    From Middle English spanne, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic *spannō (“span, handbreadth”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to stretch”).[1]

    Cognate with Dutch span, spanne, German Spanne. The sense “pair of horses” is probably from Old English ġespan, ġespann (“a joining; a fastening together; clasp; yoke”), from Proto-West Germanic [Term?]. Cognate with Dutch gespan, German Gespann.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]
    English Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia

    span (plural spans)

    1. The full width of an open hand from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger used as an informal unit of length.
    2. Any of various traditional units of length approximating this distance, especially the English handspan of 9 inches forming ⅛ fathom and equivalent to 22.86 cm.
    3. (by extension) A small space or a brief portion of time.
      He has a short attention span and gets bored within minutes.
    4. A portion of something by length; a subsequence.
      • 2004, Robert Harris, Robert Warner, The Definitive Guide to SWT and JFace, page 759:
        For example, in OpenOffice.org or Microsoft Word, each span of text can have a style that defines key characteristics about the text: • What font it uses • Whether it's normal, bolded, italicized, […]
    5. (architecture, construction) The spread or extent of an arch or between its abutments, or of a beam, girder, truss, roof, bridge, or the like, between supports.
      • 1961 January, “Talking of Trains: The Severn Bridge disaster”, in Trains Illustrated, page 5:
        The force of the explosion demolished one pair of piers and two spans of the bridge crashed down into the river on top of the barges.
    6. (architecture, construction) The length of a cable, wire, rope, chain between two consecutive supports.
    7. (nautical) A rope having its ends made fast so that a purchase can be hooked to the bight; also, a rope made fast in the center so that both ends can be used.
    8. (US, Canada) A pair of horses or other animals driven together; usually, such a pair of horses when similar in color, form, and action.
    9. (mathematics) The space of all linear combinations of vectors within a set.
    10. (computing) The time required to execute a parallel algorithm on an infinite number of processors, i.e. the shortest distance across a directed acyclic graph representing the computation steps.
      • 2017, Ananya Kumar, Guy E. Blelloch, Robert Harper, “Parallel Functional Arrays”, in ACM SIGPLAN Notices, →DOI:
        We use the term span (also called depth, or dependence depth) to refer to the number of parallel steps assuming an unbounded number of processors.
    11. wingspan of a plane or bird
    Derived terms
    [edit]
    [edit]
    Translations
    [edit]

    See also

    [edit]

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ “span”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    From Middle English spannen, from Old English spannan, from Proto-Germanic *spannaną (“to stretch, span”). Cognate with German spannen, Dutch spannen.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Verb

    [edit]

    span (third-person singular simple present spans, present participle spanning, simple past and past participle spanned)

    1. (transitive) To extend across (a gap or space between two sides).
      The suspension bridge spanned the canyon.
      • 1855–1858, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, →OCLC:
        The rivers were spanned by arches of solid masonry.
      • 2023 March 8, “Network News: Grant for repairs at Gaunless Bridge”, in RAIL, number 978, page 9:
        Completed in 1823, Gaunless Bridge was designed by George Stephenson to span the River Gaunless in West Auckland, forming part of a line serving Witton Park Colliery.
    2. (transitive) To cover or extend over (an area or distance).
      The parking lot spans three acres.
      The forest spans the entire valley.
    3. (transitive) To extend through (a period of time).
      The novel spans three centuries.
      His career spanned five decades.
    4. (transitive) To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object.
      to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder
    5. (mathematics) To generate an entire space by means of linear combinations.
    6. (intransitive, US, dated) To be matched, as horses.
    7. (transitive) To fetter, as a horse; to hobble.
      • 1972, Mountain, numbers 20-24, page 22:
        We spanned the dogs high up a corrie to the south of the ridge […]
    Translations
    [edit]

    Etymology 3

    [edit]

    From Middle English span, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic *spann, first and third person singular preterit indicative of Proto-Germanic *spinnaną (“to spin”).

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Verb

    [edit]

    span

    1. (dated, now uncommon) simple past of spin
    Alternative forms
    [edit]
    Derived terms
    [edit]

    See also

    [edit]
    • span-new (probably etymologically unrelated)

    Anagrams

    [edit]

    Dutch

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    From older gespan.

    Noun

    [edit]

    span n (plural spannen, diminutive spannetje n)

    1. a span, a team (pair or larger team of draught animals) [from 17th c.]
    2. a cart or instrument with a team of draught animals [from 18th c.]
    3. a romantic pair, couple [from 19th c.]
    Derived terms
    [edit]
    Descendants
    [edit]
    • Afrikaans: span

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    From spannen.

    Noun

    [edit]

    span m or f (plural spannen, diminutive spannetje n)

    1. (dated) span (distance between extended thumb and little finger)
    2. (dated) span (interval of space or time)
    Alternative forms
    [edit]
    Derived terms
    [edit]

    Etymology 3

    [edit]

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Verb

    [edit]

    span

    1. inflection of spannen:
      1. first-person singular present indicative
      2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
      3. imperative

    Anagrams

    [edit]

    Icelandic

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    span n (genitive singular spans, no plural)

    1. hurry, haste
    2. (physics) induction

    Declension

    [edit]
    Declension of span (sg-only neuter)
    singular
    indefinite definite
    nominative span spanið
    accusative span spanið
    dative spani spaninu
    genitive spans spansins

    Further reading

    [edit]

    Manado Malay

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    Borrowed from Dutch spannen (“to stretch”), from Middle Dutch spannen, from Old Dutch *spannan, from Proto-Germanic *spannaną.

    Adjective

    [edit]

    span

    1. tight

    References

    [edit]
    • Balai Bahasa Provinsi Sulawesi Utara (2021), Kamus Dwibahasa Melayu Manado-Indonesia (in Indonesian), Manado: Balai Bahasa Provinsi Sulawesi Utara

    Middle English

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    span

    1. alternative form of spanne

    Sranan Tongo

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From Dutch spannen.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]
    • IPA(key): /spaŋ/, /span/, [spã̠ŋ], [spɑ̟ŋ]

    Adjective

    [edit]

    span

    1. exciting
    2. angry, displeased
    3. busy, crowded
    4. tight, taut
    5. tense, stressed
    6. loaded, crammed
    7. (of a projectile weapon) loaded, armed

    Noun

    [edit]

    span

    1. tension
    2. excitement

    Verb

    [edit]

    span

    1. to stretch out
    2. to tighten
    3. to crowd
    4. to suffer stress, to be agitated
    5. to be exciting
      • 1981, Thea Doelwijt, Prisiri stari. De pretster. Wan komedi-pré gi pikin. Een theaterspel voor kinderen [The star of joy. A theatre play for children]‎[2], Paramaribo: Eldoradoboek, →ISBN, page 114:
        Ini 1974 te kon miti a srefidensi foe Sranan (1975), a Doe-Theater pré: Libi Span ini na ati joe[sic – meaning foe] Sranan - wan totaal-theater-pré, pe singi, pokoe, dansi nanga pré moksi kon na wan, èn pe den someni koeltoeroe foe Sranan ben e begi foe a krakti foe Mama Sranan.
        [Ini 1974 te kon miti a srefidensi fu Sranan (1975), a Doe-Theater prei: Libi Span ini na ati fu Sranan - wan totaal-theater-prei, pe singi, poku, dansi nanga prei moksi kon na wan, èn pe den someni kulturu fu Sranan ben e begi fu a krakti fu Mama Sranan.]
        In 1974 until the independence of Suriname (1975), the Doe-Theater performed: Life's Exciting in the Heart of Suriname - a total-theatre play where song, music, dance and theatre mixed together, and where Suriname's many cultures invoked the strength of Mother Suriname.
    6. (of a projectile weapon) to load, to arm

    Descendants

    [edit]

    Swedish

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    Deverbal from spana.

    Noun

    [edit]

    span n (indeclinable)

    1. (colloquial) an act of spying (something)
      Jag hade fått span på en dam som kan få en att bli monogam
      I had spied a lady that can make one monogamous
    2. (colloquial) stakeout

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Noun

    [edit]

    span

    1. indefinite plural of spa

    References

    [edit]

    West Frisian

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From Low German or Dutch spannen (“to yoke, stretch”).

    Noun

    [edit]

    span n (plural spannen, diminutive spantsje)

    1. span, team (pair of draught animals in a team)
    2. pair, couple

    Further reading

    [edit]
    • “span (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
    Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=span&oldid=90962982"