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An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Speer

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An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, S (1891)
by Friedrich Kluge, translated by John Francis Davis
Speer
Friedrich Kluge2510086An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, S — Speer1891John Francis Davis

Speer, m., ‘spear,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. spër, m.; common to Teut., with the corresponding terms, OIc. spjǫr, plur., ‘spear,’ AS. spëre, E. spear, Du. speer, OSax. spër (from Teut. spër is derived OFr. espier). It is uncertain how the word is connected with Lat. sparus, ‘hunting-spear’; it may be cognate, or the two languages may have borrowed it from a third. Its relation to Sparren and Sporn is doubtful.