span
/spæn/ noun, verb, proper noun
Also a form of spin
Forms spans spanning spanned spun
- noun 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.
- noun 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.
- noun (by extension) A small space or a brief portion of time. “He has a short attention span and gets bored within minutes.”
- noun A portion of something by length; a subsequence.
- noun (architecture, construction) The spread or extent of an arch or between its abutments, or of a beam, girder, truss, roof, bridge, or the like, between supports.
- noun (architecture, construction) The length of a cable, wire, rope, chain between two consecutive supports.
- noun (nautical) A rope having its ends made fast so that a purchase can be hooked to the bight; also, a rope made fast in the center so that both ends can be used.
- noun (US, Canada, collective) A pair of horses or other animals driven or sold together; usually, such a pair of horses usually being similar in color, form, and action.
- verb (transitive) To extend across (a gap or space between two sides). “The suspension bridge spanned the canyon.”
- verb (transitive) To cover or extend over (an area or distance). “The parking lot spans three acres.”
- verb (transitive) To extend through (a period of time). “The novel spans three centuries.”
- verb (transitive) To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object.
- verb (mathematics) To generate an entire space by means of linear combinations.
- verb (intransitive, US, dated) To be matched, as horses.
- verb (transitive) To fetter, as a horse; to hobble.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
couple pair twosome twain brace yoke couplet distich duo duet dyad duad bridge straddle cross traverse sweep
Etymology
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.
From Middle English spannen, from Old English spannan, from Proto-Germanic *spannaną (“to stretch, span”). Cognate with German spannen, Dutch spannen.
From Middle English span, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic *spann, first and third person singular preterit indicative of Proto-Germanic *spinnaną (“to spin”).
* As a Slovene surname, from župan (“head of a district”), from župa (“district”); compare Zupan.
* As a German surname, variant of Spahn; also Spann.
* As a Jewish surname from Span (“chip”) (probably through Yiddish).
Webster’s 1913
- imp. & p. p. of Spin.
- noun The space from the thumb to the end of the little finger when extended; nine inches; eighth of a fathom.
- noun Hence, a small space or a brief portion of time.
- verb To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object; as, to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder.
Etymology [AS. spann; akin to D. span, OHG. spanna, G. spanne, Icel. spönn. sq. root170. See Span, v. t.]
Etymology [AS. pannan; akin to D. & G. spannen, OHG. spannan, Sw. spänna, Dan. spænde, Icel. spenna, and perh. to Gr. spatium space. sq. root170. Cf. Spin, v. t., Space, Spasm.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “span”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details