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Webster 1913 Edition

Spit

Spit

,
Noun.
[OE.
spite
, AS.
spitu
; akin to D.
spit
, G.
spiess
, OHG.
spiz
, Dan.
spid
. Sw.
spett
, and to G.
spitz
pointed. √170.]
1.
A long, slender, pointed rod, usually of iron, for holding meat while roasting.
2.
A small point of land running into the sea, or a long, narrow shoal extending from the shore into the sea;
as, a
spit
of sand
.
Cook.
3.
The depth to which a spade goes in digging; a spade; a spadeful.
[Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.

Spit

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Spitted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Spitting
.]
[From
Spit
,
Noun.
; cf.
Speet
.]
1.
To thrust a spit through; to fix upon a spit; hence, to thrust through or impale;
as, to
spit
a loin of veal
.
“Infants spitted upon pikes.”
Shak.
2.
To spade; to dig.
[Prov. Eng.]

Spit

,
Verb.
I.
To attend to a spit; to use a spit.
[Obs.]
She’s
spitting
in the kitchen.
Old Play.

Spit

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Spit
(
Spat
,
archaic
);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Spitting
.]
[AS.
spittan
; akin to G.
spützen
, Dan.
spytte
, Sw.
spotta
,Icel.
sp[GREEK]ta
, and prob. E.
spew
. The past tense
spat
is due to AS.
sp[GREEK]tte
, from
sp[GREEK]tan
to spit. Cf.
Spat
,
Noun.
,
Spew
,
Spawl
,
Spot
,
Noun.
]
1.
To eject from the mouth; to throw out, as saliva or other matter, from the mouth.
“Thus spit I out my venom.”
Chaucer.
2.
To eject; to throw out; to belch.
☞ Spitted was sometimes used as the preterit and the past participle. “He . . . shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on.”
Luke xviii. 32.

Spit

,
Noun.
The secretion formed by the glands of the mouth; spitle; saliva; sputum.

Spit

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To throw out saliva from the mouth.
2.
To rain or snow slightly, or with sprinkles.
It had been
spitting
with rain.
Dickens.
To spit on
or
To spit upon
,
to insult grossly; to treat with contempt.
“Spitting upon all antiquity.”
South.

Webster 1828 Edition

Spit

SPIT

,
Noun.
[G.]
1.
An iron prong or bar pointed, on which meat is roasted.
2.
Such depth of earth as is pierced by the spade at once. [D. spit, a spade.]
3.
A small point of land running into the sea, or a long narrow shoal extending from the shore into the sea; as a spit of sand.

SPIT

,
Verb.
T.
[from the noun.]
1.
To thrust a spit through; to put upon a spit; as, to spit a loin of veal.
2.
To thrust through; to pierce.

SPIT

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and pp. spit. Spat is obsolete. [G. The sense is to throw or drive.]
1.
To eject from the mouth; to thrust out, as saliva or other matter from the mouth.
2.
To eject or throw out with violence.

SPIT

,
Verb.
I.
To throw out saliva from the mouth. It is a dirty trick to spit on the floor or carpet.

SPIT

,
Noun.
What is ejected from the mouth; saliva.

Definition 2024

spit

spit

English

Noun

spit ‎(plural spits)

  1. A rod on which meat is grilled (UK English) or broiled (US English).
  2. A narrow, pointed, usually sandy peninsula.
  3. The depth to which a spade goes in digging; a spade; a spadeful.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)
Translations

Verb

spit ‎(third-person singular simple present spits, present participle spitting, simple past and past participle spitted)

  1. To impale on a spit.
    to spit a loin of veal
    • Shakespeare
      infants spitted upon pikes
  2. To attend to a spit; to use a spit.
    She's spitting in the kitchen.
  3. To spade; to dig.
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English spete, from Old English spittan, from Proto-Germanic (compare Danish spytte, Swedish spotta), from Proto-Indo-European *sp(y)ēw, *spyū [1], of imitiative origin (see spew)[2]

In the Wycliffe Bible (Middle English), one finds spete (infinitive), spetyng (gerund), spetide (past), and spete (past participle).

Verb

spit ‎(third-person singular simple present spits, present participle spitting, simple past and past participle spat or spit)

  1. (intransitive, transitive) To evacuate (saliva or another substance) from the mouth.
    1611, Bible (KJV), Mark 8:23:
    And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
    The teacher told her to spit out her bubble gum.
    • 1994, Stephen Fry, The Hippopotamus Chapter 2
      At the very moment he cried out, David realised that what he had run into was only the Christmas tree. Disgusted with himself at such cowardice, he spat a needle from his mouth, stepped back from the tree and listened. There were no sounds of any movement upstairs: no shouts, no sleepy grumbles, only a gentle tinkle from the decorations as the tree had recovered from the collision.
  2. To rain or snow slightly, or with sprinkles.
    • Charles Dickens
      It had been spitting with rain.
  3. (transitive) To utter violently.
  4. (transitive, slang, hip-hop) To rap, utter.
    • 2005, Giselle Zado Wasfie, So Fly
      A group of black guys were spitting rhymes in the corner, slapping hands and egging one another on.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Usage notes

The past tense and past participle spit are the more common forms used by speakers in America, but they are also used often enough by speakers of British and Commonwealth English to be listed as alternative forms by Collins and the Oxford Online Dictionaries. It is an older form. A non-standard past participle form is spitten.

Translations

Noun

spit ‎(countable and uncountable, plural spits)

  1. (uncountable) Saliva, especially when expectorated.
    There was spit all over the washbasin.
  2. (countable) An instance of spitting.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Anagrams

References

  1. ↑ Ayto, John, Dictionary of Word Origins, Arcade Publishing, New York, 1990
  2. ↑ spew, Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper

Etymology

From Middle English spytte, spette, spite, spyte, spete, from Old English spitu, from Proto-Germanic *spitō, from Proto-Indo-European *spid-, *spey- ‎(“pointed; sharp stick”). Cognate with Dutch spit, German Low German Spitt, Danish spid, Swedish spett.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈspɪt/
  • Hyphenation: spit
  • Rhymes: -ɪt

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