spit

Spit, saliva, is imitative; spit, a roasting rod, is a different Old English word.^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /spɪt/^[3]

spit¹ saliva

Etymology

Spit, to expel saliva, is inherited from Middle English spitten, inherited from Old English spittan (Anglian), probably a dialect variant of West Saxon spǣtan,^[2][4][5] of imitative origin,^[2][4][1][6] compare Danish spytte, Swedish spotta and Icelandic spýta.^[2] It is related to spittle and spew.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 950, Anglian, in Barnhart;^[2] Middle English spitten is probably from before 1200.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Spitting at someone as a gesture of contempt is already in Old English.^[4] The noun, saliva, is from before 1325 (the early 14th century),^[2][4] and an act of spitting by the 1650s.^[4] The sense of an exact likeness is attested from 1825,^[2] giving spit and image (1895) and, by folk etymology, spitting image (1901).^[2][1] Spit and polish, scrupulous smartness, is a military phrase by 1895,^[4] and spitfire, a fiery-tempered person, is from 1680.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 950 – spittan.^[2]
• before 1325 – spit, saliva (noun).^[2]
• 1825 – the very spit, exact likeness.^[2]
• 1895 – spit and polish.^[4]
• 1901 – spitting image.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To force saliva or something else out of the mouth.
2. To say something angrily or with contempt.
3. Of fire or hot fat, to throw out sparks or drops with a sputtering noise.
4. To rain very lightly.

Noun

1. Saliva, especially when spat out; spittle.
2. The exact likeness of someone: the spit of his father.

Word family

• spittle
• spitfire
• spitting image
• spittoon

spit² roasting rod

Etymology

The roasting spit is inherited from Middle English spite, inherited from Old English spitu,^[2][4][5][6] from Proto-Germanic *spituz,^[2][4][5] cognate with Dutch spit, Old High German spiz (modern Spieß) and spizzi (“pointed”) (modern spitz),^[2][4][6] from a root meaning a sharp point (see spike and spine).^[4][6] Old French espois and Spanish espeto are Germanic loans.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1000, in Ælfric's Grammar, in Barnhart and the OED.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to put on a spit, is probably from before 1200,^[2][4] and to pierce with a weapon from the early 15th century.^[4] A narrow point of land running into the sea is from the 1670s, the late 17th century in Word Origins.^[4][1][5]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – spitu, a roasting spit.^[2][7]
• probably before 1200 – to spit, impale.^[2]
• 1670s – a spit of land.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A thin pointed rod on which meat is roasted over a fire.
2. A long narrow point of land running out into the sea.

Verb

1. To put on a spit; to impale.

Related words

• skewer
• spew
• spike

References

1. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press