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spa

Etymology and origin of the English word spa

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Eponym
First attested
1610

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /spɑː/[1]

Etymology

It is from Spa, a health resort in the province of Liège in eastern Belgium, famous for its curative mineral springs,[2][3][4][5] known since the 14th century;[3][6] the place name is from Walloon espa, spring, fountain.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Spa, the Belgian resort, is named in English from 1565, and used in a general sense from 1610;[7][5] a medicinal or mineral spring, 1626.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

A town or resort with a mineral spring is first recorded in 1777, in Sheridan.[2][7] A commercial establishment offering health and beauty treatments is from 1960,[7][3] and a hot tub, or spa bath, from 1974 in American English.[2][7] The American Heritage note records a regional sense, a soda fountain, probably alluding to the carbonated water used there.[8]

Timeline

  • 1565 – Spa, the Belgian resort.[7]
  • 1610 – a spa (generalized).[7][5]
  • 1626 – a mineral spring.[2]
  • 1777 – a spa town.[2]
  • 1960 – a health spa.[7]
  • 1974 – a hot tub.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A place or resort with a mineral spring, or the spring itself.
  2. A commercial establishment offering health and beauty treatments.
  3. A bath or tub of hot aerated water; a hot tub.

Word family

  • health spa

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Spa.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/spa. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·