spill English · revision 15450

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 950}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /spɪl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|spillen]], [[inh|ang|spillan|t=to destroy, kill]], a variant of [[m|ang|spildan]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*spilþijaną]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) cognate with [[osx|spildian|t=to destroy, kill]], [[non|spilla|t=to destroy]] and [[dum|spillen|t=to waste, squander, spill]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Hoad calls its origin unknown;^(Hoad 1986) it may be from a root meaning to split (compare [[de|spalten]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To destroy or kill: about 950 in Barnhart, Old English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The old sense, to kill or destroy, was common until about 1600,^(Cresswell 2021) and Trench notes that it once meant to waste, squander or destroy in any way, as in Chaucer.^(Trench 1859) To waste is from probably before 1200, to shed blood from before 1325,^(Barnhart 1988) and to let liquid run out from about 1340, the late Middle English sense that grew from shedding blood.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) Trench explains the narrowing by liquid poured on the ground seeming so utterly lost.^(Trench 1859) The noun, a fall or tumble, as from a horse, is from 1845, and a spilling of liquid from 1848.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Spillway is from 1889 and spillover from 1940.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – spillan, to destroy.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * probably before 1200 – to waste.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1325 – to shed blood.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1340 – to spill liquid.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1845 – a fall (noun).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cause or allow liquid to run or fall out of a container, especially by accident.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To pour or spread out beyond limits: ''the crowd spilled into the street''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To shed blood.^(AHD)

+ # ''(informal)'' To reveal a secret: ''spill the beans''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An act of spilling, or the amount spilled.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A fall, as from a horse.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[spiller]]

+ * [[spillable]]

+ * [[unspilled]]

+ * [[nonspill]]

+ * [[spillage]]

+ * [[spillback]]

+ * [[spillover]]

+ * [[spillproof]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[spillway]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different spill, a splinter, or a thin strip of wood or twisted paper for lighting a fire, is from about 1300, of uncertain origin, probably related to [[spile]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}