different between fly vs spring

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: fl?, IPA^(key): /fla?/
• Rhymes: -a?

Etymology 1

From Middle English flye, flie, from Old English fl??e, fl?oge (“a fly”), from Proto-Germanic *fleug? (“a fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”). Cognate with Scots flee, Saterland Frisian Fljooge, Dutch vlieg, German Low German Fleeg, German Fliege, Danish flue, Norwegian Bokmål flue, Norwegian Nynorsk fluge, Swedish fluga, Icelandic fluga.

Noun

fly (plural flies)

1. (zoology) Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by having two wings (except for some wingless species), also called true flies.
2. (non-technical) Especially, any of the insects of the family Muscidae, such as the common housefly (other families of Diptera include mosquitoes and midges).
3. Any similar, but unrelated insect such as dragonfly or butterfly.
5. (fishing) A lightweight fishing lure resembling an insect.
6. (weightlifting) A chest exercise performed by moving extended arms from the sides to in front of the chest. (also flye)
7. (obsolete) A witch's familiar.
   • 1610, Ben Jonson, The Alchemist

     a trifling fly, none of your great familiars

8. (obsolete) A parasite.
9. (swimming) The butterfly stroke (plural is normally flys)
10. (preceded by definite article) A simple dance in which the hands are shaken in the air, popular in the 1960s.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• fly on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Muscidae on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Etymology 2

From Middle English flien, from Old English fl?ogan, from Proto-Germanic *fleugan? (compare Saterland Frisian fljooge, Dutch vliegen, Low German flegen, German fliegen, Danish flyve, Norwegian Nynorsk flyga), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (*plew-k-, “to fly”) (compare Lithuanian pla?kti ‘to swim’), enlargement of *plew- (“flow”). More at flee and flow.

Verb

fly (third-person singular simple present flies, present participle flying, simple past flew, past participle flown)

1. (intransitive) To travel through the air, another gas, or a vacuum, without being in contact with a grounded surface.
   • 1909, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Orthodoxy

     Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.

2. (transitive, intransitive, archaic, poetic) To flee, to escape (from).

   • Sleep flies the wretch.

   • 1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

     He staggered and fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss. “Fly, you fools!” he cried, and was gone.

3. (transitive, ergative) To cause to fly (travel or float in the air): to transport via air or the like.

   • The brave black flag I fly.

4. (intransitive) To travel or proceed very fast; to hasten.

   He flew down the hill on his bicycle.

   It's five o'clock already. Doesn't time fly!

   • 1645, John Milton, On Time

     Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race.

   • 1870, William Cullen Bryant (translator), The Iliad (originally by Homer)

     The dark waves murmured as the ship flew on.
5. To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly or swiftly.
6. (intransitive) To proceed with great success.

   His career is really flying at the moment.

   One moment the company was flying high, the next it was on its knees.

7. (intransitive, colloquial, of a proposal, project or idea) To be accepted, come about or work out.

8. (transitive, ergative) To display (a flag) on a flagpole.
9. To hunt with a hawk.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (travel through air): soar, hover, wing, skim, glide, ascend, rise, float, aviate
• (flee): escape, flee, abscond; see also Thesaurus:flee
• (travel very fast): dart, flit; see also Thesaurus:move quickly
• (do an act suddenly): hurry, zoom; see also Thesaurus:rush

Antonyms

• (travel through air): walk
• (flee): remain, stay
• (travel very fast): see also Thesaurus:move slowly

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

• fly agaric
• flight

Translations

Noun

fly (plural flys or flies)

1. (obsolete) The action of flying; flight.
2. An act of flying.

3. (baseball) A fly ball.
4. (now historical) A type of small, fast carriage (sometimes pluralised flys).
   • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Folio Society 2008, page 124:

     As we left the house in my fly, which had been waiting, Van Helsing said:— ‘Tonight I can sleep in peace [...].’

   • 1924, Ford Madox Ford, Some Do Not…, Penguin 2012 (Parade's End), page 54:

     And, driving back in the fly, Macmaster said to himself that you couldn't call Mrs. Duchemin ordinary, at least.

5. A piece of canvas that covers the opening at the front of a tent.
7. (often plural) A strip of material (sometimes hiding zippers or buttons) at the front of a pair of trousers, pants, underpants, bootees, etc.

   Ha-ha! Your flies are undone!

   • February 2014 Y-Front Fly

     Y-Front is a registered trademark for a special front fly turned upside down to form a Y owned by Jockey® International. The first Y-Front® brief was created by Jockey® more than 70 years ago.

   • June 2014 The Hole In Men’s Underwear: Name And Purpose

     Briefs were given an opening in the front. The point of this opening (the ‘fly’) was to make it easier to pee with clothes on

8. The free edge of a flag.
9. The horizontal length of a flag.
10. (weightlifting) An exercise that involves wide opening and closing of the arms perpendicular to the shoulders.
11. The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows.
12. (nautical) That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card.

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Totten to this entry?)

13. Two or more vanes set on a revolving axis, to act as a fanner, or to equalize or impede the motion of machinery by the resistance of the air, as in the striking part of a clock.
14. Short for flywheel.
15. (historical) A light horse-drawn carriage that can be hired for transportation.
    • 1859, Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White:

      Can I get a fly, or a carriage of any kind? Is it too late?

      I dismissed the fly a mile distant from the park, and getting my directions from the driver, proceeded by myself to the house.

    • 1861, Henry Mayhew and William Tuckniss, London Labour and the London Poor: A Cyclopœdia of the Condition and Earnings of Those that Will Work, Those that Cannot Work, and Those that Will Not Work, Volume 3, p. 359:

      A glass coach, it may be as well to observe, is a carriage and pair hired by the day, and a fly a one-horse carriage hired in a similar manner.

16. In a knitting machine, the piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch.

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)

17. The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn.
18. (weaving) A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk.

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)

19. (printing, historical) The person who took the printed sheets from the press.
20. (printing, historical) A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power printing press for doing the same work.
21. One of the upper screens of a stage in a theatre.
22. (cotton manufacture) waste cotton

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

fly (third-person singular simple present flies, present participle flying, simple past and past participle flied)

1. (intransitive, baseball) To hit a fly ball; to hit a fly ball that is caught for an out. Compare ground (verb) and line (verb).

   Jones flied to right in his last at-bat.

Translations

Etymology 3

Origin uncertain; probably from the verb or noun.

Adjective

fly (comparative flier, superlative fliest)

1. (slang, dated) Quick-witted, alert, mentally sharp.
2. (slang) Well dressed, smart in appearance; in style, cool.
3. (slang) Beautiful; displaying physical beauty.

Translations

Etymology 4

Related to German Flügel (“a wing”), Dutch vleugel (“a wing”), Swedish flygel (“a wing”).

Noun

fly (plural flies)

1. (rural, Scotland, Northern England) A wing.

References

• fly at OneLook Dictionary Search
• The Dictionary of the Scots Language

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?fly?]

Etymology 1

An abbreviation of flyvemaskine, after Norwegian fly and Swedish flyg.

Noun

fly n (singular definite flyet, plural indefinite fly)

1. airplane

Inflection

Synonyms

• flyvemaskine c
• flyver c

Etymology 2

From Old Norse flýja (“to flee”), from Proto-Germanic *fleuhan?, cognate with English flee, German fliehen, Dutch vlieden.

Verb

fly (present flyr or flyer, past tense flyede, past participle flyet)

1. (archaic) to flee
2. (archaic) to shun

Inflection

Etymology 3

From Middle Low German vl?(g)en (“to stack, sort out”), cognate with Dutch vlijen (“to place”), from Proto-Germanic *fl?han, of unknown ultimate origin; possibly related to the root of *flaihijan (“to be sly, to flatter”), though the semantic gap is wide.

Verb

fly (present flyr or flyer, past tense flyede, past participle flyet)

1. (archaic) to hand, give

Inflection

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fly?/

Etymology 1

Short form of flygemaskin

Noun

fly n (definite singular flyet, indefinite plural fly, definite plural flya or flyene)

1. plane, aeroplane (UK), airplane (US), aircraft

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse fljúga

Alternative forms

• flyge

Verb

fly (imperative fly, present tense flyr, simple past fløy, past participle flydd or fløyet)

1. to fly

Derived terms

• glidefly

References

• “fly” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fly?/ (example of pronunciation)

Etymology 1

Clipping of flygemaskin (“flying machine”).

Noun

fly n (definite singular flyet, indefinite plural fly, definite plural flya)

2. plane, aeroplane (UK), airplane (US), aircraft

   Skunda deg, elles misser du flyet ditt!

   Hurry up, or you'll miss your plane!

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse fljúga, from Proto-Germanic *fleugan?.

Alternative forms

• fljuga, fljuge, flyga, flyge

Verb

fly (present tense flyr or flyg, past tense flaug, supine floge, past participle flogen, present participle flygande, imperative fly or flyg)

2. (intransitive) to fly (to travel through air, another gas or a vacuum, without being in contact with a grounded surface)
3. (transitive, ergative) to cause to fly: to transport via air or the like
4. (intransitive) to run, move fast
5. (intransitive, chiefly about farm animals) to be in heat, rutting

Derived terms

Related terms

• fløygje

Adjective

fly (masculine and feminine fly, neuter flytt, definite singular and plural flye, comparative flyare, indefinite superlative flyast, definite superlative flyaste)

1. very steep

Noun

fly n (definite singular flyet, indefinite plural fly, definite plural flya)

1. a very steep cliff

Etymology 3

From Old Norse flýja, from Proto-Germanic *fleuhan?.

Verb

fly (present tense flyr, past tense flydde, past participle flydd/flytt, passive infinitive flyast, present participle flyande, imperative fly)

2. (intransitive) to escape; flee; run away

   Synonym: flykte

4. (transitive) to escape from

Etymology 4

Clipping of flygande (“flying”), present participle of fly.

Adverb

fly

1. (colloquial) Used as an intensifier for the word forbanna

   Han vart fly forbanna.

Etymology 5

Confer with flye n (“flying insect”) and English fly.

Noun

fly f (definite singular flya, indefinite plural flyer, definite plural flyene)

1. small (flying) insect
2. (fishing) bait

Etymology 6

Noun

fly f (definite singular flya, indefinite plural flyer, definite plural flyene)

1. specks

   Synonyms: rusk, grann

Etymology 7

Noun

fly f (definite singular flya, indefinite plural flyer, definite plural flyene)

1. mountain plateau

   Synonyms: vidde, fjellvidde

Etymology 8

Of uncertain origin, though may be related to flyta (“to float”).

Noun

fly n (definite singular flyet, indefinite plural fly, definite plural flya)

1. sump

Etymology 9

Related to, or possibly a doublet of flø, from Old Norse flór.

Adjective

fly (masculine and feminine fly, neuter flytt, definite singular and plural flye, comparative flyare, indefinite superlative flyast, definite superlative flyaste)

2. tepid

References

• “fly” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
• Ivar Aasen (1850) , “fly”, in Ordbog over det norske Folkesprog, Oslo: Samlaget, published 2000

Anagrams

• fyl

Scots

Adjective

fly

1. (slang, chiefly Doric) sneaky

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish fl?ia, fl?a, from Old Norse flýja, from Proto-Germanic *fleuhan?.

Pronunciation

Verb

fly (present flyr, preterite flydde, supine flytt, imperative fly)

1. to flee, to run away, to escape

2. to pass, to go by (of time)
   • 1964, Gunnel Vallquist, title of the new Swedish translation of Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu

     På spaning efter den tid som flytt

     In Search of Lost Time

   • 1965, Sven-Ingvars, Börja om från början

     Varför ska man sörja tider som har flytt?

     Why should one feel sorry for times that have passed?

Conjugation

Related terms

• flykt
• flykting

Westrobothnian

Verb

fly

1. to send, to hand

   fly me s?ksa

   hand me the scissors

English

Etymology

As a verb, from Middle English springen (“to burst or flow forth, to sprout, to emerge, to happen, to become known, to sprinkle”), from Old English springan (“to burst or flow forth, to sprout, to emerge, to become known”), cognate with Afrikaans spring, West Frisian springe, Dutch & German springen, Danish springe, Swedish springa. Further etymology is uncertain, but usually taken to derive from a Proto-Germanic verb reconstructed as *springan? (“to burst forth”), from a Proto-Indo-European root reconstructed *sper??- whose other descendants may include Lithuanian spreñgti (“to push (in)”), Old Church Slavonic ?????? (pr?sti, “to spin, to stretch”), Latin spargere (“to sprinkle, to scatter”), Ancient Greek ?????? (spérkh?, “to hasten”), Sanskrit ???????? (sp?háyati, “to be eager”). Some newer senses derived from the noun.

As a noun, from Middle English spring (“a wellspring, tide, branch, sunrise, kind of dance or blow, ulcer, snare, flock”), from Old English spring (“wellspring, ulcer”) and Old English spryng (“a jump”), from ablaut forms of the Proto-Germanic verb. Further senses derived from the verb and from clippings of day-spring, springtime, spring tide, etc. Its sense as the season, first attested in a work predating 1325, gradually replaced Old English lencten (“spring, Lent”) as that word became more specifically liturgical. Compare fall.

Pronunciation

• enPR: spr?ng, IPA^(key): /sp???/
• Rhymes: -??

Verb

spring (third-person singular simple present springs, present participle springing, simple past sprang or sprung, past participle sprung)

1. (intransitive) To burst forth.
   1. (of liquids) To gush, to flow suddenly and violently.
      • Beowulf, ll. 2966–7:

        ...for swenge swat ædrum sprong
        forð under fexe.

        ...for the swing, the blood from his veins sprang
        forth under his hair.

      • c. 1540, John Bellenden translating Livy as History of Rome, Vol. I, i, xxii, p. 125:

        ...þe wound þat was springand with huge stremes of blude...

   2. (of water, now mostly followed by "out" or "up") To gush, to flow out of the ground.
   3. (of light) To appear, to dawn.
      • 1611, Bible (KJV), Judges, 19:25:

        ...so the man tooke his concubine, and brought her foorth vnto them, and they knew her, and abused her all the night vntil the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her goe.

   4. (of plants) To sprout, to grow,
      • 1611, Bible (KJV), Job, 38:25–27:

        Who hath diuided a water-course for the ouerflowing of waters? or a way for the lightning of thunder,
        To cause it to raine on the earth, where no man is: on the wildernesse wherein there is no man?
        To satisfie the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herbe to spring forth.

      • 1936, Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People, p. 42:

        Dr. Sigmund Freud... says that everything you and I do springs from two motives: the sex urge and the desire to be great.

      • 1974, James Albert Michener, Centennial, p. 338:

        There was moisture in the ground, and from it sprang a million flowers, gold and blue and brown and red.

      • 2006, N. Roberts, Morrigann's Cross, vi:

        Foxglove sprang tall and purple among the trees.

   5. (now chiefly botanical) To grow taller or longer.
   6. (hunting, especially of birds) To rise from cover.
   7. (of landscape) To come dramatically into view.
   8. (figuratively) to arise, to come into existence.

      Synonyms: arise, form, take shape

   9. (figuratively, Usually with cardinal adverbs, of animals) to move with great speed and energy; to leap, to jump; to dart, to sprint; of people: to rise rapidly from a seat, bed, etc.
      • c. 1250, Life of St Margaret, Trin. Col. MS B.14.39 (323), f. 22v:

        ...into helle spring...

      • 1474, William Caxton translator, Game and Playe of the Chesse, iii, vii, 141:

        Ye kynge... sprange out of his chare and resseyuyd them worshipfully.

      • 1722, Ambrose Philips, The Briton:

        ...the Mountain Stag, that springs
        From Height to Height, and bounds along the Plains,
        Nor has a Master to restrain his Course...

      • 1827, Clement Clarke Moore, "(A Visit from St. Nicholas)":

        ...out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
        I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

      • 2011 April 11, The Atlantic:

        Reporters sprang to the conclusion that the speech would make detailed new commitments...

      Synonyms: bound, jump, leap

   10. (usually with from) To be born, descend, or originate from

   11. (figuratively, religion, philosophy) to descend or originate from.

   12. (obsolete) To rise in social position or military rank, to be promoted.
   13. (obsolete, of knowledge, usually with wide) To become known, to spread.
   14. (obsolete, of odors) To emit, to spread.
2. (transitive, archaic, of beards) To grow.
   • c. 1330,, "Otuel", The Taill of Rauf Coilyear, ll. 1445–6:

     A ?ong kni?t, þat sprong furst [berd],
     Of no man he nas aferd.

3. (transitive) To cause to burst forth.
   1. (rare, of water) To cause to well up or flow out of the ground.
   2. (figuratively, of plants) To bring forth.
      1. (obsolete) permit to bring forth new shoots, leaves, etc.
   3. (obsolete, of knowledge) To cause to become known, to tell of.
   4. (figuratively, of animals) To cause to move energetically; (equestrianism) to cause to gallop, to spur.
      • 1986 April 25, Horse & Hound, p. 40:

        Just before the last pair of cones he sprung his ponies.

      • 2003 July 10, Daily Telegraph, p. 7:

        Simple tricks such as an ‘ollie’—springing the board into mid-air—can be picked up in just a couple of weeks.

   5. (hunting, of birds) To cause to rise from cover.

   6. (obsolete, military, of weapons) To shift quickly from one designated position to another.
      • 1833, Regulations for the Instruction... of the Cavalry, i, i, 29:

        Each man springs his ramrod as the officer passes him, and then returns it.

   7. (obsolete, of horses) To breed with, to impregnate.
      • 1585, Thomas Washington translating Nicolas De Nicolay as The Navigations, Peregrinations, and Voyages, Made into Turkie..., Bk. IV, p. 154:

        ...[they] sought the fairest stoned horses to spring their mares...

   8. (of mechanisms) To cause to work or open by sudden application of pressure.
      • 1747, The London Magazine, Or, Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer

        On the 23d, the Besiegers sprung a Mine under the Salient Angle, upon the Right of the Haif Moon, which had the desired Success, the Enemy's Gallery on that Side, and the Mason-Work of the Counterscarp, being thereby demolished.

4. (transitive, obsolete) To make wet, to moisten.
5. (intransitive, usually with "to" or "up") To rise suddenly, (of tears) to well up.

6. (intransitive, now usually with "apart" or "open") To burst into pieces, to explode, to shatter.
   • 1698, François Froger, A Relation of a Voyage Made... on the Coasts of Africa, p. 30:

     On the 22nd the mines sprang, and took very good effect.

7. (obsolete, military) to go off.
   • 2012 April 21, Sydney Morning Herald, p. 5:

     The whole contraption appears liable to spring apart at any moment.

8. (transitive, military) To cause to explode, to set off, to detonate.
   • 1625, Samuel Purchas, Purchas His Pilgrimes, Vol. II, x, ix:

     They sprung another Mine... wherein was placed about sixtie Barrels of Powder.

9. (intransitive, nautical, usually perfective) To crack.
   • 2011, Julian Stockwin, Conquest, p. 177:

     Probably the mast had sprung in some squall.

10. (transitive, nautical) To have something crack.
    • 1582 August 2, Richard Madox, diary:

      The Edward sprang hir foremast.

11. (transitive, nautical) To cause to crack.
    • a. 1653, Zacharie Boyd, "Zion's Flowers":

      A boisterous wind...
      Springs the... mast...

13. (transitive, figuratively) To surprise by sudden or deft action.
    1. To come upon and flush out
       • 1819, James Hardy Vaux, "A New and Comprehensive Vocabulary of the Flash Language", Memoirs, Vol. II, s.v. "Plant":

         To spring a plant, is to find any thing that has been concealed by another.

    2. (Australia, slang) to catch in an illegal act or compromising position.
       • 1980, John Hepworth & al., Boozing Out in Melbourne Pubs..., p. 42:

         He figured that nobody would ever spring him, but he figured wrong.

    3. (obsolete) To begin something.
    4. (obsolete) To produce, provide, or place an item unexpectedly.
       • 1700, John Dryden translating Ovid as "Cinyras and Myrrha" in Fables, p. 178:

         Surpriz'd with Fright,
         She starts, and leaves her Bed, and springs a Light.

       • 1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor, Vol. I, p. 53:

         It's a feast at a poor country labourer's place, when he springs six-penn'orth of fresh herrings.

    5. (obsolete, slang) To put bad money into circulation.
    6. (obsolete, of jokes, gags) To tell, to share.
    7. (of news, surprises) To announce unexpectedly, to reveal.

    8. (transitive, slang, US) To free from imprisonment, especially by facilitating an illegal escape.

       Synonyms: free, let out, release, spring loose
    9. (intransitive, slang, rare) To be free of imprisonment, especially by illegal escape.
14. (transitive, architecture, of arches) To build, to form the initial curve of.

15. (intransitive, architecture, of arches, with "from") To extend, to curve.

16. (transitive, nautical) To turn a vessel using a spring attached to its anchor cable.
17. (transitive, obsolete, nautical) To raise a vessel's sheer.
18. (transitive, obsolete, cobblery) To raise a last's toe.
19. (transitive) To pay or spend a certain sum, to cough up.
    • 1957, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, Over Seventy, p. 137:

      He wouldn't spring a nickel for a bag of peanuts.

20. (obsolete, intransitive, slang) To raise an offered price.
21. (transitive, US, dialectal) Alternative form of sprain.
22. (transitive, US, dialectal) Alternative form of strain.
23. (intransitive, obsolete) To act as a spring: to strongly rebound.
24. (transitive, rare) To equip with springs, especially (of vehicles) to equip with a suspension.
25. (transitive, rare, obsolete) To provide spring or elasticity
26. (figuratively, rare, obsolete) to inspire, to motivate.
27. (transitive) To deform owing to excessive pressure, to become warped; to intentionally deform in order to position and then straighten in place.
    • 1873 July, Routledge's Young Gentleman's Magazine, p. 503:

      Don't drive it in too hard, as it will ‘spring’ the plane-iron, and make it concave.

28. (intransitive, now rare) To reach maturity, to be fully grown.
29. (intransitive, Britain, dialectal, chiefly of cows) To swell with milk or pregnancy.
    • 1955, Patrick White, The Tree of Man, New York: Viking, Chapter 15, p. 228,^[2]

      “Gee, Dad, Nancy’s springing all right,” Ray said and paused in spontaneous pleasure.

      Stan Parker came, and together they looked at their swelling heifer.

30. (transitive, of rattles, archaic) To sound, to play.
31. (intransitive, obsolete) To spend the springtime somewhere
    1. (of animals) to find or get enough food during springtime.

Usage notes

• The past-tense forms sprang and sprung are both well attested historically. In modern usage, sprang is comparatively formal (and more often considered correct), sprung comparatively informal. The past participle, however, is overwhelmingly sprung; sprang as a past participle is attested, but is no longer in standard use.

Synonyms

• (come into being): see also Thesaurus:come into being

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

spring (countable and uncountable, plural springs)

1. (countable) An act of springing: a leap, a jump.
   • 1700, John Dryden, "The Cock and the Fox":

     The pris'ner with a spring from prison broke;
     Then stretch'd his feather'd fans with all his might,
     And to the neighb'ring maple wing'd his flight.

2. (countable) The season of the year in temperate regions in which plants spring from the ground and into bloom and dormant animals spring to life.

   Synonym: springtime

   Coordinate terms: summer, autumn or fall, winter

   1. (astronomy) The period from the moment of vernal equinox (around March 21 in the Northern Hemisphere) to the moment of the summer solstice (around June 21); the equivalent periods reckoned in other cultures and calendars.

   2. (meteorology) The three months of March, April, and May in the Northern Hemisphere and September, October, and November in the Southern Hemisphere.

3. (uncountable, figuratively) The time of something's growth; the early stages of some process.
   • 1611, Bible (KJV), 1 Samuel 9:26:

     ...and it came to passe about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house...
4. (countable, fashion) Someone with ivory or peach skin tone and eyes and hair that are not extremely dark, seen as best suited to certain colors of clothing.
5. (countable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
   1. (geology) A spray or body of water springing from the ground.

      Synonyms: fount, source

   2. (oceanography, obsolete) The rising of the sea at high tide.
   3. (oceanography) Short for spring tide, the especially high tide shortly after full and new moons.

      Antonym: neap tide

   4. A mechanical device made of flexible or coiled material that exerts force and attempts to spring back when bent, compressed, or stretched.

      Synonym: coil

   5. (nautical) A line from a vessel's end or side to its anchor cable used to diminish or control its movement.
      • 1836, Frederick Marryat, Mr. Midshipman Easy, Vol. III, p. 72:

        He had warped round with the springs on his cable, and had recommenced his fire upon the Aurora.

   6. (nautical) A line laid out from a vessel's end to the opposite end of an adjacent vessel or mooring to diminish or control its movement.
      • 1769, William Falconer, An Universal Dictionary of the Marine, s.v.:

        Spring is likewise a rope reaching diagonally from the stern of a ship to the head of another which lies along-side or a-breast of her.

      • 2007 January 26, Business Times:

        ‘Springs’ are the ropes used on a ship that is alongside a berth to prevent fore and aft movements.

   7. (figuratively) A race, a lineage.
   8. (figuratively) A youth.
   9. A shoot, a young tree.
   10. A grove of trees; a forest.
6. (countable, slang) An erection of the penis. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
7. (countable, nautical, obsolete) A crack which has sprung up in a mast, spar, or (rare) a plank or seam.
   • 1846, Arthur Young, Nautical Dictionary, p. 292:

     A spar is said to be sprung, when it is cracked or split,... and the crack is called a spring.

8. (uncountable) Springiness: an attribute or quality of springing, springing up, or springing back, particularly
   1. Elasticity: the property of a body springing back to its original form after compression, stretching, etc.

      Synonyms: bounce, bounciness, elasticity, resilience, springiness

   2. Elastic energy, power, or force.
      • 1697, John Dryden, Virgil's Aeneis, Bk. xi, ll. 437–8:

        Heav'ns what a spring was in his Arm, to throw:
        How high he held his Shield, and rose at ev'ry blow!
9. (countable) The source from which an action or supply of something springs.
   • 1611, Bible (KJV), Psalms 87:7:

     As wel the singers as the players on instruments shall bee there: all my springs are in thee.

   • 1693, Richard Bentley, The Folly and Unreasonableness of Atheism..., Sermon 1:

     Such a man can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth him, he can patiently suffer all things with cheerfull submission and resignation to the Divine Will. He has a secret Spring of spiritual Joy, and the continual Feast of a good Conscience within, that forbid him to be miserable.

   • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 1:

     ‘Have you ever contemplated, Adrian, the phenomenon of springs?’
     ‘Coils, you mean?’
     ‘Not coils, Adrian, no. Coils not. Think springs of water. Think wells and spas and sources. Well-springs in the widest and loveliest sense. Jerusalem, for instance, is a spring of religiosity. One small town in the desert, but the source of the world’s three most powerful faiths... Religion seems to bubble from its sands.’

   Synonyms: impetus, impulse

10. (countable) Something which causes others or another to spring forth or spring into action, particularly
    1. A cause, a motive, etc.
       • 1713, Alexander Pope, Prologue to Cato, a Tragedy by Joseph Addison

         Our author shuns by vulgar springs to move
         The hero's glory, or the virgin's love.

    2. (obsolete) A lively piece of music.

Usage notes

Note that season names are not capitalized in modern English unless at the beginning of a sentence, for example, I can't wait for spring to arrive. Exceptions occur when the season is personified, as in Old Man Winter, is used as part of a name, as in the Winter War, or is used as a given name, as in Summer Glau. This is in contrast to the days of the week and months of the year, which are always capitalized (Thursday or September).

Synonyms

• (time of growth, early stages): See Thesaurus:beginning

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• geyser
• Hooke's law
• seep
• Slinky
• vernal
• well

References

• “spring, n¹.”, in OED Online ?, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2017
• “spring, n².”, in OED Online ?, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2017
• “spring, n³.”, in OED Online ?, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2017
• “spring, v¹.”, in OED Online ?, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2017
• “spring, v².”, in OED Online ?, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2017
• “spring, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2018.
• “springen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2018.

Danish

Etymology

Verbal noun to springe.

Noun

spring n (singular definite springet, plural indefinite spring)

1. spring, jump, vault, leap

Declension

Related terms

Verb

spring

1. imperative of springe

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spr??/
• Rhymes: -??

Verb

spring

1. first-person singular present indicative of springen
2. imperative of springen

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p???/

Verb

spring

1. singular imperative of springen
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of springen

Icelandic

Verb

spring

1. inflection of springa:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Middle English

Alternative forms

• springe

Etymology

From Old English spring, spryng.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sprin?/, [spri??]

Noun

spring (plural springes)

1. spring, (natural) fountain, font.
2. sprout, shoot
3. sunrise
4. leap, jump
5. (rare) spring (season)

Descendants

• English: spring
• Scots: spring

See also

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

spring

1. imperative of springe

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

spring

1. present of springa

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [spr??]

Noun

spring (plural springs)

1. spring, springtime
2. growth of vegetation in springtime

Verb

tae spring (third-person singular simple present springs, present participle springin, simple past sprang, past participle sprung)

1. to spring
2. to leap over, cross at a bound
3. to put forth, send up or out
4. to burst, split, break apart, break into
5. to dance a reel

Swedish

Noun

spring n

1. a running (back and forth)
   • 1918, Goss-skolan i Plumfield, the Swedish translation of Louisa M. Alcott, Little Men: Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys (1871)

     Eftermiddagen tillbragtes med att ordna sakerna, och när springet och släpet och hamrandet var förbi, inbjödos damerna att beskåda anstalten.

     The afternoon was spent in arranging things, and when the running and lugging and hammering was over, the ladies were invited to behold the institution.

Declension

Verb

spring

1. imperative of springa.