different between spur vs inspiration
spur
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /sp??/
- (General American) IPA(key): /sp?/
- Rhymes: -??(?)
Etymology 1
From Middle English spure, spore, from Old English spura, spora, from Proto-Germanic *spurô, from Proto-Indo-European *sper-, *sperw- (“to twitch, push, fidget, be quick”).
Noun
spur (plural spurs)
- A rigid implement, often roughly y-shaped, that is fixed to one's heel for the purpose of prodding a horse. Often worn by, and emblematic of, the cowboy or the knight.
- Meronyms: rowel, prick
- 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 22:
- Two sorts of spurs seem to have been in use about the time of the Conquest, one called a pryck, having only a single point like the gaffle of a fighting cock; the other consisting of a number of points of considerable length, radiating from and revolving on a center, thence named the rouelle or wheel spur.
- A jab given with the spurs.
- 1832, The Atheneum (volume 31, page 493)
- I had hardly said the word, when Kit jumped into the saddle, and gave his horse a whip and a spur — and off it cantered, as if it were in as great a hurry to be married as Kit himself.
- 1832, The Atheneum (volume 31, page 493)
- (figuratively) Anything that inspires or motivates, as a spur does a horse.
- An appendage or spike pointing rearward, near the foot, for instance that of a rooster.
- Any protruding part connected at one end, for instance a highway that extends from another highway into a city.
- Roots, tree roots.
- (geology) A mountain that shoots from another mountain or range and extends some distance in a lateral direction, or at right angles.
- A spiked iron worn by seamen upon the bottom of the boot, to enable them to stand upon the carcass of a whale to strip off the blubber.
- (carpentry) A brace strengthening a post and some connected part, such as a rafter or crossbeam; a strut.
- (architecture) The short wooden buttress of a post.
- (architecture) A projection from the round base of a column, occupying the angle of a square plinth upon which the base rests, or bringing the bottom bed of the base to a nearly square form. It is generally carved in leafage.
- Ergotized rye or other grain.
- A wall in a fortification that crosses a part of a rampart and joins to an inner wall.
- (shipbuilding) A piece of timber fixed on the bilgeways before launching, having the upper ends bolted to the vessel's side.
- (shipbuilding) A curved piece of timber serving as a half to support the deck where a whole beam cannot be placed.
- (mining) A branch of a vein.
- (rail transport) A very short branch line of a railway line.
- (transport) A short branch road of a motorway, freeway or major road.
- (botany) A short thin side shoot from a branch, especially one that bears fruit or, in conifers, the shoots that bear the leaves.
Derived terms
- spur gear
- spur-leather
- spur-of-the-moment
- spur road
Translations
Verb
spur (third-person singular simple present spurs, present participle spurring, simple past and past participle spurred)
- (transitive) To prod (especially a horse) on the side or flank, with the intent to urge motion or haste, to gig.
- 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act V, Scene III, line 339:
- Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head! Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood; Amaze the welkin with your broken staves!
- 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act V, Scene III, line 339:
- (transitive) To urge or encourage to action, or to a more vigorous pursuit of an object
- Synonyms: incite, stimulate, instigate, impel, drive; see also Thesaurus:incite
- 1599, William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act III, Scene IV, line 4.
- My desire / (More sharp than filed steel) did spur me forth...
- (transitive) To put spurs on.
- (intransitive) To press forward; to travel in great haste.
Derived terms
- spur on
Translations
Etymology 2
See sparrow.
Noun
spur (plural spurs)
- A tern.
Etymology 3
Short for spurious.
Noun
spur (plural spurs)
- (electronics) A spurious tone, one that interferes with a signal in a circuit and is often masked underneath that signal.
Etymology 4
Noun
spur (plural spurs)
- The track of an animal, such as an otter; a spoor.
Translations
Etymology 5
Verb
spur (third-person singular simple present spurs, present participle spurring, simple past and past participle spurred)
- (obsolete, dialectal) Alternative form of speer.
- 1638, Thomas Heywood, "The Rape of Lucrece. A true Roman Tragedy", in The Dramatic Works of Thomas Heywood, Vol. V, John Pearson, 1874, pages 230 & 231.
- The Pall Mall Magazine, Vol. 33, 1904, page 435.
- 1638, Thomas Heywood, "The Rape of Lucrece. A true Roman Tragedy", in The Dramatic Works of Thomas Heywood, Vol. V, John Pearson, 1874, pages 230 & 231.
Anagrams
- Prus, purs, surp
Middle English
Noun
spur
- Alternative form of spore
Scots
Alternative forms
- sparra
- spug
- spuggie
- speug
Noun
spur (plural spurs)
- sparrow
References
- “spur” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
spur From the web:
- what spurred the march revolution of 1917
- what spurred the industrial revolution
- what spurred the new economy
- what spurred the growth of the temperance movement
- what spurred the creation of the populist party
- what spurred the rise of public schooling
- what spurred the beginning of the romantic era
- what spurred the renaissance
inspiration
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French inspiration, from Late Latin ?nsp?r?ti?nem (nominative: ?nsp?r?ti?), from Latin ?nsp?r?tus (past participle of insp?r?).Morphologically inspire +? -ation
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?nsp???e???n/
- Rhymes: -e???n
Noun
inspiration (countable and uncountable, plural inspirations)
- (physiology, uncountable) The drawing of air into the lungs, accomplished in mammals by elevation of the chest walls and flattening of the diaphragm, as part of the act of respiration.
- (countable) A breath, a single inhalation.
- 1826, John Bostock, An Elementary System of Physiology, p. 220:
- Laughing is produced by an inspiration succeeded by a succession of short imperfect expirations.
- 1826, John Bostock, An Elementary System of Physiology, p. 220:
- A supernatural divine influence on the prophets, apostles, or sacred writers, by which they were qualified to communicate moral or religious truth with authority; a supernatural influence which qualifies people to receive and communicate divine truth; also, the truth communicated.
- 1688, Jacques Bénigne Bossuet, The History of the Variations of the Protestant Churches Vol.2 (1829 translation), p. 355:
- The question, therefore, at issue is, not whether those external means be sufficient without grace and divine inspiration, for none pretends that": but, in order to hinder men from feigning or imagining an inspiration, whether it has not been God's economy, and his usual conduct to make his inspiration walk hand in hand with certain means of fact, which men can neither feign in the air without being convicted of falsehood, nor imagine without illusion.
- 1971, Peter Brown, The World of Late Antiquity: AD 150—750, Thames & Hudson LTD (2013 reprint), ?ISBN, page 54.
- The more strongly people felt about their ideas, the more potent the demons seemed to them: Christians believed that traditional paganism, far from being the work of men, was an 'opium of the masses', pumped into the human race by the non-human demons; and one scholar even ascribed bad reviews of his book to demonic inspiration!
- 1688, Jacques Bénigne Bossuet, The History of the Variations of the Protestant Churches Vol.2 (1829 translation), p. 355:
- The act of an elevating or stimulating influence upon the intellect, emotions or creativity.
- Usage notes: In this sense, it may be followed by the adposition to in relation to the person being influenced, and for or to in relation to the idea or activity:
- 1865, George Duffield, The Nation's Wail, p. 6:
- We caught the inspiration of his joy; and imagination painted a glorious future near at hand for our land, quickly to develop itself under the guidance of his fostering wisdom, and fraternal counsels and care.
- 1998, David Allen Brown, Leonardo da Vinci: Origins of a Genius, p. 25:
- All this suggests that Andrea may, like the authors of the devotional panel, the fresco, and the print – and like Leonardo, as we shall see – have found his inspiration in Pollaiuolo.
- 2002, Sven Rasegård, Man and Science: A Web of Systems and Social Conventions, p. 2:
- And now it is time for problem solving which, if successful, will create new ideas serving as an inspiration source for future research objects of the researcher in question as well as other researchers within the same field.
- 2013, Phil McNulty, "Liverpool 1-0 Man Utd", BBC Sport, 1 September 2013:
- As for United, this was a performance lacking in inspiration, purpose and threat and once again underlined the urgency for transfer business to be done in the closing hours of the transfer window.
- A person, object, or situation which quickens or stimulates an influence upon the intellect, emotions or creativity.
- 2008 April 5, George W. Bush, Presidential Radio Address:
- The people of Ukraine and Georgia are an inspiration to the world, and I was pleased that this week NATO declared that Ukraine and Georgia will become members of NATO.
- 2008 April 5, George W. Bush, Presidential Radio Address:
- A new idea, especially one which arises suddenly and is clever or creative.
- 1916, Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton, Mrs. Balfame, ch. 15:
- Mrs. Balfame had an inspiration. "My God!" she exclaimed, springing to her feet, "the murderer . . . was hidden in the cellar or attic all night, all the next day! He may be here yet!"
- 2007 July 1, Sylviane Gold, "Scenery Chewer Plays It Straight, Methodically," New York Times (retrieved 3 Sept. 2013):
- [H]e accompanied her to a rehearsal of a skit satirizing “Casablanca,” and the director had an inspiration: Wouldn’t it be a laugh to cast a 10-year-old as Rick?
- 1916, Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton, Mrs. Balfame, ch. 15:
Synonyms
- (physiology): inhalation
- (stimulation of creativity or intellect): spark, flash, eureka
Antonyms
- (physiology): expiration
Derived terms
Related terms
- inspire
Translations
See also
- Muse
- Pierian spring
References
- inspiration in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
French
Etymology
From Old French inspiration, borrowed from Late Latin ?nsp?r?ti?nem (nominative: ?nsp?r?ti?), from Latin ?nsp?r?tus (past participle of insp?r?).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /??s.pi.?a.sj??/
Noun
inspiration f (plural inspirations)
- inspiration (instance of breathing in)
- inspiration (divine intervention)
- inspiration (something which brings about creativity or perseverance)
See also
- inspirer
Further reading
- “inspiration” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Old French
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin inspirationem (nominative: inspiratio), from Latin inspiratus (past participle of insp?r?).
Noun
inspiration f (oblique plural inspirations, nominative singular inspiration, nominative plural inspirations)
- inspiration (act of breathing in)
- inspiration (something which inspires)
Descendants
- ? English: inspiration
- French: inspiration
References
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (inspiracion)
inspiration From the web:
- what inspiration means
- what inspiration means to me
- what inspirational quotes
- what inspirational leaders do
- what inspirational quote are you quiz
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