*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of spear

From Middle English spere, sperre, spear, from Old English spere, from Proto-West Germanic *speru, from Proto-Germanic *speru, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH-. Cognates See also West Frisian spear, Dutch speer, German S

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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 long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion. · A soldier armed with such a weapon; a spearman. · A lance with barbed prongs, used by fishermen to retrieve fish. · An illegal maneuver using the end of a hockey stick to strike into another hockey player.

verb

To pierce with a spear. · To penetrate or strike with, or as if with, any long narrow object; to make a thrusting motion that catches an object on the tip of a long device. · To tackle an opponent by ramming into them with one's helmet. · To shoot into a long stem, as some plants do.

adj

Male. · Pertaining to male family members.

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

From Middle English spere, sperre, spear, from Old English spere, from Proto-West Germanic *speru, from Proto-Germanic *speru, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH-. Cognates See also West Frisian spear, Dutch speer, German Speer, Old Norse spjǫr, *sparrô, Middle Dutch sparre (“rafter”), Old Norse sparri (“spar, rafter”), sperra (“rafter, beam”); also Latin sparus (“short spear”), Albanian ferrë (“thorn, thornbush”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 6 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": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "spere"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English spere"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "spere"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English spere"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*speru"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *speru"
    },
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        "2": "gem-pro",
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      },
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    },
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      "name": "der",
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*sperH-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *sperH-"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "spear"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian spear"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "speer"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch speer"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Speer"
      },
      "expansion": "German Speer"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "spjǫr"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse spjǫr"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "dum",
        "2": "sparre",
        "3": "",
        "4": "rafter"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch sparre (“rafter”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "sparri",
        "3": "",
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      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse sparri (“spar, rafter”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "sparus",
        "3": "",
        "4": "short spear"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin sparus (“short spear”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "ferrë",
        "3": "",
        "4": "thorn, thornbush"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian ferrë (“thorn, thornbush”)"
    }
  ],
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      "spere#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "sperre#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "spear",
      "spear#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "spere",
      "spere#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*speru",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/speru"
    ],
    [
      "*speru",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/speru"
    ],
    [
      "*sperH-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/sperH-"
    ],
    [
      "spear",
      "spear#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "speer",
      "speer#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Speer",
      "Speer#German"
    ],
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      "spjǫr",
      "spjǫr#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*sparrô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sparrô"
    ],
    [
      "sparre",
      "sparre#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "sparri",
      "sparri#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "sperra",
      "sperra#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "sparus",
      "sparus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ferrë",
      "ferrë#Albanian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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      "pos": "noun",
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        "A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion.",
        "A soldier armed with such a weapon; a spearman.",
        "A lance with barbed prongs, used by fishermen to retrieve fish.",
        "An illegal maneuver using the end of a hockey stick to strike into another hockey player."
      ],
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        "To penetrate or strike with, or as if with, any long narrow object; to make a thrusting motion that catches an object on the tip of a long device.",
        "To tackle an opponent by ramming into them with one's helmet.",
        "To shoot into a long stem, as some plants do."
      ],
      "tags": [
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

The sprout of a plant, stalk · A church spire.

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

Alteration of spire, from Middle English spyre, spier, spir, from Old English spīr (“stalk of a plant, shoot, blade”). More at spire.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionspyreenm
  • Inherited-form mentionspīrang · stalk of a plant, shoot, blade
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "3": "spyre"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "spīr",
        "t": "stalk of a plant, shoot, blade"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English spīr (“stalk of a plant, shoot, blade”)"
    }
  ],
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      "spire#English"
    ],
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    ],
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      "spier",
      "spier#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "spir",
      "spir#Middle_English"
    ],
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    ],
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      "spire#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
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  "lexical": [
    {
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        "The sprout of a plant, stalk",
        "A church spire."
      ],
      "tags": [
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      ],
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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 spear →

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-c3BlYXI