*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of spurt

From earlier spirt, sprit (“to sprout”), from Middle English sprytten, from Old English spryttan, from Proto-West Germanic *spruttjan, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)per- (“to strew, sow, sprinkle”).

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A brief gush, as of liquid spurting from an orifice or a cut/wound. · Ejaculation of semen. · A shoot; a bud.

verb

To cause to gush out suddenly or violently in a stream or jet. · To rush from a confined place in a small stream or jet.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From earlier spirt, sprit (“to sprout”), from Middle English sprytten, from Old English spryttan, from Proto-West Germanic *spruttjan, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)per- (“to strew, sow, sprinkle”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "sprytten"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English sprytten"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "spryttan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English spryttan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*spruttjan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *spruttjan"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*(s)per-",
        "t": "to strew, sow, sprinkle"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *(s)per- (“to strew, sow, sprinkle”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "spirt",
      "spirt#English"
    ],
    [
      "sprit",
      "sprit#Etymology 2"
    ],
    [
      "sprytten",
      "sprytten#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "spryttan",
      "spryttan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*spruttjan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/spruttjan"
    ],
    [
      "*(s)per-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)per-"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A brief gush, as of liquid spurting from an orifice or a cut/wound.",
        "Ejaculation of semen.",
        "A shoot; a bud."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang",
        "obsolete"
      ],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To cause to gush out suddenly or violently in a stream or jet.",
        "To rush from a confined place in a small stream or jet."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "intransitive"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To make a strong effort for a short period of time.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Uncertain. May be derived from Etymology 1.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "unc",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Uncertain"
    }
  ],
  "links": [],
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  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make a strong effort for a short period of time."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ],
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Source etymology 2 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

A moment, a short period of time. · A sudden brief burst of, or increase in, speed, effort, activity, emotion or development. · The act of spurting, or something spurted

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Uncertain. May be derived from Etymology 1.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "unc",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Uncertain"
    }
  ],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "word": "Spurt",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "word": "ラストスパート",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "rasuto supāto",
      "sense": "last spurt"
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A moment, a short period of time.",
        "A sudden brief burst of, or increase in, speed, effort, activity, emotion or development.",
        "The act of spurting, or something spurted"
      ],
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for spurt →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c3B1cnQ