Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Spare

Spare

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Spared
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Sparing
.]
[AS.
sparian
, fr.
spaer
spare, sparing, saving; akin to D. & G.
sparen
, OHG.
spar[GREEK]n
, Icel. & Sw.
spara
, Dan.
spare
See
Spare
,
Adj.
]
1.
To use frugally or stintingly, as that which is scarce or valuable; to retain or keep unused; to save.
“No cost would he spare.”
Chaucer.
[Thou] thy Father’s dreadful thunder didst not
spare
.
Milton.
He that hath knowledge,
spareth
his words.
Prov. xvii. 27.
2.
To keep to one's self; to forbear to impart or give.
Be pleased your plitics to
spare
.
Dryden.
Spare
my sight the pain
Of seeing what a world of tears it costs you.
Dryden.
3.
To preserve from danger or punishment; to forbear to punish, injure, or harm; to show mercy to.
Spare
us, good Lord.
Book of Common Prayer.
Dim sadness did not
spare

That time celestial visages.
Milton.
Man alone can whom he conquers
spare
.
Waller.
4.
To save or gain, as by frugality; to reserve, as from some occupation, use, or duty.
All the time he could
spare
from the necessary cares of his weighty charge, he [GREEK]estowed on . . . serving of God.
Knolles.
5.
To deprive one's self of, as by being frugal; to do without; to dispense with; to give up; to part with.
Where angry Jove did never
spare

One breath of kind and temperate air.
Roscommon.
I could have better
spared
a better man.
Shakespeare
To spare one's self
.
(a)
To act with reserve.
[Obs.]

Her thought that a lady should
her spare
.
Chaucer.
(b)
To save one's self labor, punishment, or blame.

Spare

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To be frugal; not to be profuse; to live frugally; to be parsimonious.
I, who at some times spend, at others
spare
,
Divided between carelessness and care.
Pope.
2.
To refrain from inflicting harm; to use mercy or forbearance.
He will not
spare
in the day of vengeance.
Prov. vi. 34.
3.
To desist; to stop; to refrain.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.

Spare

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Sparer
;
sup
erl.
Sparest
; – not used in all the senses of the word.]
[AS.
spaer
sparing. Cf.
Spare
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
Scanty; not abundant or plentiful;
as, a
spare
diet
.
2.
Sparing; frugal; parsimonious; chary.
He was
spare
, but discreet of speech.
Carew.
3.
Being over and above what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous;
as, I have no
spare
time
.
If that no
spare
clothes he had to give.
Spenser.
4.
Held in reserve, to be used in an emergency;
as, a
spare
anchor; a
spare
bed or room.
5.
Lean; wanting flesh; meager; thin; gaunt.
O, give me the
spare
men, and spare me the great ones.
Shakespeare
6.
Slow.
[Obs. or prov. Eng.]
Grose.

Spare

,
Noun.
1.
The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
[Obs.]
Killing for sacrifice, without any
spare
.
Holland.
2.
Parsimony; frugal use.
[Obs.]
Bacon.
Poured out their plenty without spite or
spare
.
Spenser.
3.
An opening in a petticoat or gown; a placket.
[Obs.]
4.
That which has not been used or expended.

Webster 1828 Edition

Spare

SPARE

,
Verb.
T.
[It seems to be from the same root as L. parco.]
1.
To use frugally; not to be profuse; not to waste. Thou thy Father's thunder did'st not spare/
2.
To save or withhold from any particular use or occupation. He has no bread to spare, that is, to withhold from his necessary uses. All the time he could spare from the necessary cares of his weighty charge, he bestowed on prayer and serving of God.
3.
To part with without much inconvenience; to do without. I could have better spar'd a better man. Nor can we spare you long-
4.
To omit; to forbear. We might have spared this toil and expense; Be pleas'd your politics to spare.
5.
To use tenderly; to treat with pity and forbearance; to forbear to afflict, punish or destroy. Spare us, good Lord. dim sadness did not spare celestial visages. But man alone can whom be conquers spare.
6.
Not to take when in one's power; to forbear to destroy; as, to spare the life of a prisoner.
7.
To grant; to allow; to indulge. Where anger Jove did never spare one breath of kind and temp'rate air.
8.
TO forbear to inflict of impose. Spare my sight the pain of seeing what a world of tears it cost you.

SPARE

, v.i.
1.
TO live frugally; to be parsimonious. Who at some times spend, as other spare, divided between carelessness and care.
2.
To forbear; to be scrupulous. To pluck and cat my fill I spar'd not.
3.
To be frugal; not to be profuse.
4.
To use mercy or forbearance; to forgive to be tender. The king was sparing and compassionate towards hid subjects.

SPARE

, a.
1.
Seanty; parsimonious; not abundant; as a spare diet. He was spare but discreet of speech. [We more generally use, in the latter application, sparing; as, he was sparing of words.]
2.
That can be dispensed with; not wanted; superfluous. I have no spare time on my hands. If that no spare clothes he had to give.
3.
Lean; wanting flesh; meager; thin. O give me your spare men and spare me the great ones.
4.
Slow. [Not in use.]

SPARE

,
Noun.
Parsimony; frugal use. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024

spare

spare

English

Adjective

spare ‎(comparative sparer, superlative sparest)

  1. Scanty; not abundant or plentiful.
    a spare diet
    • 2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club:
      Jones’ sad eyes betray a pervasive pain his purposefully spare dialogue only hints at, while the perfectly cast Brolin conveys hints of playfulness and warmth while staying true to the craggy stoicism at the character’s core.
  2. Sparing; frugal; parsimonious; chary.
    • Carew
      He was spare, but discreet of speech.
    • 2009 April 12, Phil Patton, “At VW, the Italian Accent Gets Stronger”, in New York Times:
      Under Hartmut Warkuss, its design director until 2003, Volkswagen styling celebrated its Teutonic origins and the spare modernist tradition expressed in Braun radios and coffee makers, reference points for the neomodern simplicity of the iPod.
  3. Being over and above what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.
    I have no spare time.
    • Spenser
      if that no spare clothes he had to give
  4. Held in reserve, to be used in an emergency.
    a spare anchor; a spare bed or room
  5. Lean; wanting flesh; meager; thin; gaunt.
    • Shakespeare
      O, give me the spare men, and spare me the great ones.
  6. (obsolete, Britain, dialect) Slow.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Grose to this entry?)
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

spare ‎(plural spares)

  1. The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
    • Holland
      Killing for sacrifice, without any spare.
  2. Parsimony; frugal use.
    • Spenser
      Poured out their plenty without spite or spare.
  3. An opening in a petticoat or gown; a placket.
  4. That which has not been used or expended.
  5. A spare part, especially a spare tire.
  6. (bowling) The right of bowling again at a full set of pins, after having knocked all the pins down in less than three bowls. If all the pins are knocked down in one bowl it is a double spare; in two bowls, a single spare.
  7. (bowling) The act of knocking down all remaining pins in second ball of a frame; this entitles the pins knocked down on the next ball to be added to the score for that frame.

Etymology 2

From Middle English sparen, sparien, from Old English sparian ‎(“to spare, show mercy to, refrain from injuring or destroying”), from Proto-Germanic *sparōną, *sparjaną ‎(“to save, keep, spare”), from Proto-Indo-European *sper- ‎(“to be productive, earn”). Cognate with Scots spar, spare, spair ‎(“to spare”), West Frisian sparje ‎(“to save, spare”), Dutch sparen ‎(“to save, spare”), German sparen ‎(“to save, conserve, economise”), Swedish spara ‎(“to save, save up”), Icelandic spara ‎(“to save, conserve”).

Verb

spare ‎(third-person singular simple present spares, present participle sparing, simple past and past participle spared)

  1. To show mercy.
    1. (intransitive) To desist; to stop; to refrain.
    2. (intransitive) To refrain from inflicting harm; to use mercy or forbearance.
    3. (transitive) To preserve from danger or punishment; to forbear to punish, injure, or harm; to show mercy.
  2. To keep.
    1. (intransitive) To be frugal; not to be profuse; to live frugally; to be parsimonious.
      • (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
        I, who at some times spend, at others spare, / Divided between carelessness and care.
    2. (transitive) To keep to oneself; to forbear to impart or give.
      Spare the rod and spoil the child.‎
      • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
        [Thou] thy Father's dreadful thunder didst not spare.
      • (Can we date this quote?) Bible, Proverbs xvii. 27
        He that hath knowledge, spareth his words.
    3. (transitive) To save or gain, as by frugality; to reserve, as from some occupation, use, or duty.
      • (Can we date this quote?) Knolles
        All the time he could spare from the necessary cares of his weighty charge, he bestowed on […] serving of God.
  3. (transitive) (to give up): To deprive oneself of, as by being frugal; to do without; to dispense with; to give up; to part with.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Roscommon
      Where angry Jove did never spare / One breath of kind and temperate air.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      I could have better spared a better man.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 22, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. […] Next day she […] tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head. Then, thwarted, the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in the law, and had perhaps spared no pains to keep on good terms with the local constabulary.
Translations

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology 1

From English spare.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /spɛːr/, [ˈsb̥æːɐ̯]

Noun

spare c (singular definite sparen, plural indefinite spare or spares)

  1. (bowling) spare (the act of knocking down all remaining pins in second ball of a frame)
Inflection

Etymology 2

From Old Norse spara.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /spaːrə/, [ˈsb̥ɑːɑ]

Verb

spare ‎(imperative spar, infinitive at spare, present tense sparer, past tense sparede, perfect tense er/har sparet)

  1. save
  2. spare
  3. economize
  4. save up

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

spare

  1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of sparen

German

Verb

spare

  1. First-person singular present of sparen.
  2. First-person singular subjunctive I of sparen.
  3. Third-person singular subjunctive I of sparen.
  4. Imperative singular of sparen.

Italian

Verb

spare

  1. third-person singular present indicative of sparere

Anagrams

Latin

Noun

spare

  1. vocative singular of sparus

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse spara

Verb

spare ‎(imperative spar, present tense sparer, simple past sparte, past participle spart, present participle sparende)

  1. to save

References

Etymology

From Middle English spare, spar, from Old English spær ‎(“sparing, scant”), from Proto-Germanic *sparaz (compare Dutch spaarzaam, German sparsam, German spärlich, Swedish sparsam, Icelandic sparr ‎(“sparing”)), from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (compare Latin prosper ‘lucky’, Old Church Slavonic sporŭ ‘plentiful’, Albanian shperr ‘to earn money’, Persian سپار ‎(sepār) ‘entrust; deposit’, Ancient Greek sparnós ‘rare’, Sanskrit sphirá ‘thick’).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈspɛə(ɹ)/
  • Rhymes: -ɛə(r)

Similar Results