Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗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. · 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. · A small space or a brief portion of time. · A portion of something by length; a subsequence.
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”). 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.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 7 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:spanne",
"id": "noun",
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"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *(s)pend-der.\nProto-Germanic *spannō\nOld English spann\nMiddle English spanne\nEnglish span\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*(s)pend-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*spannō\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"spann\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"spanne\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"span\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"noun\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"span\" id=\"English:_noun\">"
},
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"3": "spanne"
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"expansion": "Middle English spanne"
},
{
"name": "inh",
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"2": "ang",
"3": "spann"
},
"expansion": "Old English spann"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*spannō",
"t": "span, handbreadth"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *spannō (“span, handbreadth”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*(s)pend-",
"t": "to stretch"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to stretch”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "span"
},
"expansion": "Dutch span"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Spanne"
},
"expansion": "German Spanne"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "ġespan"
},
"expansion": "Old English ġespan"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gmw-pro"
},
"expansion": "Proto-West Germanic [Term?]"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "gespan"
},
"expansion": "Dutch gespan"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Gespann"
},
"expansion": "German Gespann"
},
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}
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"*(s)pend-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)pend-"
],
[
"*spannō",
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[
"spann",
"spann#Old_English"
],
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"spanne",
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"spanne",
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[
"spann",
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],
[
"*spannō",
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],
[
"*(s)pend-",
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],
[
"span",
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],
[
"spanne",
"spanne#Dutch"
],
[
"Spanne",
"Spanne#German"
],
[
"ġespan",
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],
[
"ġespann",
"gespann#Old_English"
],
[
"gespan",
"gespan#Dutch"
],
[
"Gespann",
"Gespann#German"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"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.",
"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.",
"A small space or a brief portion of time.",
"A portion of something by length; a subsequence."
],
"tags": [
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