different between spare vs modest

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?sp??(?)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?sp???/
• Rhymes: -??(?)

Etymology 1

From Middle English spare, spar, from Old English spær (“sparing, scant”), from Proto-Germanic *sparaz (compare with Dutch spaar(zaam), German spar(sam) and spär(lich), Swedish spar(sam), Icelandic sparr (“sparing”)), from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (compare Latin (pro)sperus (“lucky”), Old Church Slavonic ????? (spor?, “plentiful”), Albanian shperr (“earn money”), Persian ????? (sep?r, “entrust; deposit”), Ancient Greek ??????? (sparnós, “rare”), Sanskrit ????? (sphirá, “thick”)).

Adjective

spare (comparative sparer, superlative sparest)

1. Scant; not abundant or plentiful.

   a spare diet
2. Sparing; frugal; parsimonious; not spending much money.
   • 1602, Richard Carew, Survey of Cornwall

     He was spare, […] but discreet of speech.
3. Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.

   I have no spare time.
4. Held in reserve, to be used in an emergency.

   a spare anchor; a spare wheel or tyre

5. Not occupied or in current use.
6. Lean; lacking flesh; meager; thin; gaunt.
8. (Britain, informal) Very angry; frustrated or distraught.

   When he found out that someone had broken the window, he went spare.

   The poor girl is going spare, stuck in the house all day with the kids like that.

   • 2006, Tate Hallaway, Tall, Dark & Dead:

     “That'll drive him spare.”
9. (obsolete, Britain, dialect) Slow.

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

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Welsh: sbâr

Translations

Noun

spare (plural spares)

1. The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
   • 1600, Philemon Holland, The Romane Historie

     men slaine, then without any spare at all they trampled over the dead carkasses

2. Parsimony; frugal use.
3. An opening in a petticoat or gown; a placket.
4. That which has not been used or expended.
5. A spare part, especially a spare tire.
6. A superfluous or second-best person, specially (in a dynastic context) in the phrase "An heir and a spare".
7. (bowling) The right of bowling again at a full set of pins, after having knocked all the pins down in less than three bowls. If all the pins are knocked down in one bowl it is a double spare; in two bowls, a single spare.
8. (bowling) The act of knocking down all remaining pins in second ball of a frame; this entitles the pins knocked down on the next ball to be added to the score for that frame.
9. (Canada) A free period; a block of school during which one does not have a class.

Etymology 2

From Middle English sparen, sparien, from Old English sparian (“to spare, show mercy to, refrain from injuring or destroying”), from Proto-Germanic *spar?n?, *spar?n? (“to save, keep, spare”), from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to be productive, earn”). Cognate with Scots spar, spare, spair (“to spare”), West Frisian sparje (“to save, spare”), Dutch sparen (“to save, spare”), German sparen (“to save, conserve, economise”), Swedish spara (“to save, save up”), Icelandic spara (“to save, conserve”).

Verb

spare (third-person singular simple present spares, present participle sparing, simple past and past participle spared)

1. To show mercy.
   1. (intransitive) To desist; to stop; to refrain.
   2. (intransitive) To refrain from inflicting harm; to use mercy or forbearance.
   3. (transitive) To preserve from danger or punishment; to forbear to punish, injure, or harm; to show mercy.
      • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

        Kill me, if you please, or spare me.
2. To keep.
   1. (intransitive) To be frugal; not to be profuse; to live frugally; to be parsimonious.
   2. (transitive) To keep to oneself; to forbear to impart or give.
   3. (transitive) To save or gain, as by frugality; to reserve, as from some occupation, use, or duty.
3. (transitive) (to give up): To deprive oneself of, as by being frugal; to do without; to dispense with; to give up; to part with.
   • a. 1779, Earl of Roscommon, “The Twenty-second Ode of the First Book of Horace”:

     Where angry Jove did never spare / One breath of kind and temperate air.

   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The History of Henry the Fourth (Part 1), Act V, scene iv:

     Poor Jack, farewell! / I could have better spared a better man

Descendants

• ? Welsh: sbario

Translations

Anagrams

• Asper, Earps, Pears, Peras, RESPA, Rapes, Spear, Spera, apers, apres, après, aprés, as per, asper, pares, parse, pears, prase, presa, præs., rapes, reaps, sarpe, spear

Danish

Etymology 1

From English spare. Related to the following verb.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sp??r/, [?sb????], [?sb?æ??]

Noun

spare c (singular definite sparen, plural indefinite spare or spares)

1. (bowling) spare (the act of knocking down all remaining pins in second ball of a frame)

Inflection

References

• “spare,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 2

From Old Norse spara, from Proto-Germanic *spar?n?, cognate with Swedish spara, English spare, German sparen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spa?r?/, [?sb????]
• Homophones: sparer, sparre, sparrer

Verb

spare (past tense sparede, past participle sparet)

1. to save
2. to spare
3. to economize
4. to save up

Inflection

References

• “spare,2” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

spare

1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of sparen

French

Etymology 1

From Latin sparus

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spa?/

Noun

spare m (plural spares)

1. A fish of the superorder Acanthopterygii

Etymology 2

From English spare

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sp??/

Noun

spare m (plural spares)

1. (bowling) a spare.

Related terms

• strike

German

Verb

spare

1. inflection of sparen:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. first/third-person singular subjunctive I
   3. singular imperative

Italian

Verb

spare

1. third-person singular present indicative of sparere

Anagrams

• aspre, parse, persa, presa, saper, spera

Latin

Noun

spare

1. vocative singular of sparus

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

spare

1. Alternative form of sparre

Etymology 2

Verb

spare

1. Alternative form of sparren (“to close”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse spara

Verb

spare (imperative spar, present tense sparer, passive spares, simple past sparte, past participle spart, present participle sparende)

1. to save

Derived terms

• sparebank

References

• “spare” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

English

Etymology

From Middle French modeste, from Latin modestus

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m?d?st/

Adjective

modest (comparative more modest or modester, superlative most modest or modestest)

1. Not bragging or boasting about oneself or one's achievements; unpretentious, humble.
2. Small, moderate in size.

3. Pure and delicate from a sense of propriety.

4. (especially of behaviour or clothing) Intending to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:humble
• See also Thesaurus:intermediate
• See also Thesaurus:small

Antonyms

• immodest

Derived terms

• modest proposal
• modesty

Translations

Anagrams

• domets

Albanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m?d?st/

Adjective

modest m (feminine modeste)

1. modest

Derived terms

• modesti

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin modestus.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /mo?d?st/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /mu?d?st/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /mo?dest/

Adjective

modest (feminine modesta, masculine plural modests or modestos, feminine plural modestes)

1. modest

   Antonym: immodest

Derived terms

• modestament

Related terms

• immodest
• modèstia

Further reading

• “modest” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “modest” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “modest” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “modest” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mo?dest/

Adjective

modest m or n (feminine singular modest?, masculine plural mode?ti, feminine and neuter plural modeste)

1. modest