Etymology

shpër- +‎ thyej, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱeh₃i- ‎(“sharpen”). Alternatively from from Proto-Indo-European *spreǵʰ- ‎(“to spring, jump”). Compare Lithuanian spreñgti ‎(“to push in”), Old Church Slavonic прѧсти ‎(pręsti, “to spin, stretch”), Ancient Greek σπέρχω ‎(spérkhō, “I hasten”), Sanskrit स्पृहयति ‎(spṛhayati, “is eager”), Old English springan ‎(“to spring”).