different between span vs across

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English spanne, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic *spann? (“span, handbreadth”). Cognate with Dutch span, spanne, German Spanne. The sense “pair of horses” is probably from Old English ?espan, ?espann (“a joining; a fastening together; clasp; yoke”), from Proto-West Germanic [Term?]. Cognate with Dutch gespan, German Gespann.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American)
  • IPA^(key): /spæn/
• • Rhymes: -æn
• (Australian English)
  • IPA^(key): /spæ?n/
  • Rhymes: -æ?n

Noun

span (plural spans)

1. The space from the thumb to the end of the little finger when extended; nine inches; an eighth of a fathom.
2. (by extension) A small space or a brief portion of time.
   • 1699, George Farquhar, The Constant Couple

     Life's but a span; I'll every inch enjoy.

   • 2007. Zerzan, John. Silence.

     The unsilent present is a time of evaporating attention spans,

3. A portion of something by length; a subsequence.
   • 2004, Robert Harris, Robert Warner, The Definitive Guide to SWT and JFace (page 759)

     For example, in OpenOffice.org or Microsoft Word, each span of text can have a style that defines key characteristics about the text: • What font it uses • Whether it's normal, bolded, italicized, […]

4. (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.
5. (architecture, construction) The length of a cable, wire, rope, chain between two consecutive supports.
6. (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.
7. (US, Canada) A pair of horses or other animals driven together; usually, such a pair of horses when similar in color, form, and action.
8. (mathematics) The space of all linear combinations of something.
9. (computing) The time required to execute a parallel algorithm on an infinite number of processors, i.e. the shortest distance across a directed acyclic graph representing the computation steps.

Derived terms

• attention span
• eyespan
• memory span
• spanless

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English spannen, from Old English spannan, from Proto-Germanic *spannan? (“to stretch, span”). Cognate with German spannen, Dutch spannen.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) and GenAm
  • IPA^(key): /spæn/
  • Rhymes: -æn
• AusE
  • IPA^(key): /spæ?n/
  • Rhymes: -æ?n

Verb

span (third-person singular simple present spans, present participle spanning, simple past and past participle spanned)

1. (transitive) To extend through the distance between or across.

   The suspension bridge spanned the canyon.

   • 1856-1858, William H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip II

     The rivers were spanned by arches of solid masonry.

2. (transitive) To extend through (a time period).

   The parking lot spans three acres.

   The novel spans three centuries.

3. (transitive) To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object.

   to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder
4. (mathematics) To generate an entire space by means of linear combinations.
5. (intransitive, US, dated) To be matched, as horses.
6. (transitive) To fetter, as a horse; to hobble.

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English span, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic *spann, first and third person singular preterit indicative of Proto-Germanic *spinnan? (“to spin”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian, General American) IPA^(key): /spæn/
  • Rhymes: -æn

Verb

span

1. (archaic, now nonstandard) simple past tense of spin

Anagrams

• ANPs, NPAS, NSPA, PANs, PNAS, PNAs, Pans, SNAP, naps, pans, snap

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sp?n/
• Hyphenation: span
• Rhymes: -?n

Etymology 1

From older gespan.

Noun

span n (plural spannen, diminutive spannetje n)

1. A span, a team (pair or larger team of draught animals). [from 17th c.]
2. A cart or instrument with a team of draught animals. [from 18th c.]
3. A romantic pair, couple. [from 19th c.]

Derived terms

• driespan
• tweespan
• vierspan
• zesspan

Descendants

• Afrikaans: span

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

span

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

Anagrams

• snap

Middle English

Noun

span

1. Alternative form of spanne

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch gespannen.

Noun

span

1. tense

West Frisian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

span n (plural spannen, diminutive spantsje)

1. span, team (pair of draught animals in a team)
2. pair, couple

Further reading

• “span (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

English

Alternative forms

• acrost (dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle English acros, acrosse, equivalent to a- +? cross. Compare also Middle English acrois, a-croiz, acreoiz, from Anglo-Norman an (“in, on”) + croiz (“in the form of a cross”). More at cross.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ?-kr?s?, IPA^(key): /??k??s/
• (General American) enPR: ?-krôs?, IPA^(key): /??k??s/
• (cot–caught merger, Canada) enPR: ?-kr?s?, IPA^(key): /??k??s/
• Rhymes: -?s, -??s
• Hyphenation: across

Preposition

across

1. To, toward, or from the far side of (something that lies between two points of interest).

2. On the opposite side of (something that lies between two points of interest).

3. (Southern US, African-American Vernacular) across from: on the opposite side, relative to something that lies between, from (a point of interest).
   • 1994 June 21, Thong P Tong <[email protected]>, "Re: Battle Tech Center", message-ID <[email protected]>, comp.sys.ibm.pc.games, Usenet [1]:

     And make sure you're parked across the mall in the outside lot. […] Last time I was there, I parked in a parking structure and paid an arm and a leg for it.

   • 1995, Ronald Kessler, Inside the White House, 1996 edition, ?ISBN, page 243 [2]:

     On another occasion, Clinton asked Patterson to drive him to Chelsea's school, Booker Elementary, where Clinton met the department store clerk and climbed into her car.

     "I parked across the entrance and stood outside the car looking around, about 120 feet from where they were parked in a lot that was pretty well lit," Patterson recalled. " […] They stayed in the car for thirty to forty minutes."

   • 2011, Danielle Butler, Scars of Eternity, p. 30:

     A boy that sat across me politely introduced himself as Jackson Klausner.

4. From one side to the other within (a space being traversed).
5. At or near the far end of (a space).
   • 2004, Josephine Cox, Lovers and Liars, ?ISBN, page 78 [3]:

     "Mam's baking and Cathleen's asleep. I've got a pile of washing bubbling in the copper, so I'd best be off." With that she was across the room and out the door.

6. Spanning.

7. Throughout.
8. So as to intersect or pass through or over at an angle.
   • 2010, Alex Bledsoe, The Girls with Games of Blood, Tor, ?ISBN, page 147 [4]:

     He parked across the end of the driveway, blocking her in.

9. In possession of full, up-to-date information about; abreast of.
   • 2019, Lenore Taylor, The Guardian, 20 September:

     As a regular news reader I thought I was across the eccentricities of the US president.

Derived terms

Related terms

• cross

Translations

Adverb

across (not comparable)

1. From one side to the other.

2. On the other side.

3. In a particular direction.

4. (crosswords) Horizontally.

Translations

Noun

across (plural acrosses)

1. (crosswords, often in combination) A word that runs horizontally in the completed puzzle grid or its associated clue.

   I solved all of the acrosses, but then got stuck on 3 down.

Further reading

• across in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• across in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• across at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Oscars, ROSCAs, Rascos, caross, oscars