An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/sputen

by Friedrich Kluge

sputen, verb, ‘to speed, make haste,’ from the equivalent Middle High German *spuoten (not recorded), Old High German spuotôn; allied to Middle High German and Old High German spuot, feminine, ‘success, dispatch,’ which is the abstract of Middle High German and Old High German spuon (spuoan), ‘to succeed, be successful’ (sputen is wanting in Suabian and Bavarian). To the same cognates English speed, from Anglo-Saxon spéd, ‘success’ (Anglo-Saxon spôwan, ‘to make progress’), Dutch spoed, ‘haste,’ spoeden, ‘to hasten.’ With the root spô (spê) contained in these words, Sanscrit sphâ, ‘to swell, grow, thrive,’ and Old Slovenian spěją (spěti), ‘to be successful,’ are connected; so too perhaps Latin spatium.