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An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/sparen

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An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, S (1891)
by Friedrich Kluge, translated by John Francis Davis
sparen
Friedrich Kluge2510073An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, S — sparen1891John Francis Davis

sparen, vb., ‘to save, economise, lay up,’ from MidHG. sparn, OHG. sparôn, ‘to save, spare, preserve, lay up,’ Denomin. of OHG. spar, ‘thrifty’ (AS. spœr, for which sparsam, ‘thrifty,’ first occurs in ModHG.; MidHG. spęrlîche, ‘in a frugal manner,’ is the corresponding adv., but it was changed in ModHG. into an adj., spärlich, ‘frugal’); in OHG. sparhęnti, AS. spœrhęnde, ‘thrifty.’ Comp. Du. sparen, AS. sparian, E. to spare, OIc. spara, No connection with Gr. σπαρνός, ‘scarce, few, seldom’ (allied to σπείρω, ‘to sow, scatter’), is conceivable.