| 释义 |
▪ I. spar, n.1|spɑː(r)|
Also 4 sperr, 4–6 sperre; 4–7 sparre, 4, 6–8 sparr.
[A word of Continental origin, appearing in the following forms: MDu. sparre, spar, spaer (Du. and WFris. spar), MLG. sparre, spare, spar (LG. spar, spaar), OHG. sparro (MHG. sparre, G. sparren, † sparre, † sparr), ON. sparri (Norw., Sw., Da. sparre); also MDu. and WFlem. sperre, sper, ON. (Icel. and Norw.) sperra (older Da. sperre), NFris. spêr, spär. The type sparre is the source of OF. esparre (mod.F. dial. épare), which may partly have contributed to the adoption of the word in English.]
1. a. One of the common rafters of a roof. Now chiefly dial.
a1300Cursor M. 8796 We haf soght forest bath ner and ferr For to sek a maister sparr [Gött. sperr]. c1340Nominale (Skeat) 443 Cumble, heez et cheueroun, Roof, firstre and sparre. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 132 He wan the cite aftur, And rente doun bothe wal, and sparre, and raftur. 1402Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 77 Envie.. reuyd hath oure houses, that unnethes the hillinge hangith on the sparres. a1490Botoner Itin. (Nasmith, 1778) 260 Item the yerdys called sparres of the halle ryalle contenyth yn length about 45 fete of hole pece. a1547Surrey æneid ii. 580 The gilt sparres, and the beames then threw they down. 1598Bp. Hall Sat. v. i, A silly cote, Whose thatched spars are furred with sluttish soot. 1647Herrick Noble Numb., Thanksgiving to God, A little house, whose humble Roof Is weather-proof; Under the sparres of which I lie Both soft, and drie. 1666Spurstowe Wiles of Satan 24 What shall the spars and rafters do, if the pillars of the building tremble. 1833Loudon Encycl. Archit. §985 The laths to be well nailed to spars (common rafters). 1846J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 125 Height of the wall..to the sill, 6 ft. Length of the spars, 15 ft. 1854–in dial. glossaries (Northampt., Chesh., Northumbld.).
†b. Her. = chevron n.1 2. Obs.
1486Bk. St. Albans, Her. f j b, We haue sotheli in armys certan signys the wich ar calde Cheuerons in french..and in english a cowpull of sparris.
2. a. A pole or piece of timber of some length and moderate thickness; spec. an undressed stem of fir or similar wood under six inches in diameter.
1388in Nicolas Hist. Royal Navy (1847) II. 476, xx. sparres de keyne, xiiii. plankes & shelles de keynes. 1392Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 156 Pro x hurdell, ij sparrez, ij bulters pro officio suo in naue. c1450Merlin xxv. 460 He caught a sparre of Oke with bothe hondes. c1460Towneley Myst. iii. 130 Thou must spend many a spar this wark or thou wyn To end fully. 1513Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scotl. IV. 481 For..sperris to mak hand spakis of. 1526Skelton Magnyf. 1047 Of a spyndell I wyll make a sparre. 1615Chapman Odyss. ix. 138 Who tooke the Oliue sparre, made keene before, And plung'd it in his eye. 1664Evelyn Sylva (1679) 27 Mr. Blith makes Sparrs, and small building-Timber of Oaks of eleven years growth. 1708J. C. Compl. Collier (1845) 15 We must have either Oaken Spars, or Firr bawks. 1795Phil. Trans. LXXXV. 579 These platforms..were always made horizontal at the time of levelling, by means of a mahogany spar, or straight-edge. 1848Layard Nineveh ix. (1850) 239 Loading a small raft with spars and skins for the construction of a larger. 1876Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 139/2 Fishing Spars, in artillery material, consist of spars of wood placed parallel to the spars to be strengthened, by lashing them to one another.
fig.1648J. Beaumont Psyche xv. cccxxvi, Their Eyes will know no Lid, But make the beams recoil, the spars retreat.
b. Without article, as a material.
1794Rigging & Seamanship 25 The trestle-trees..are confined in a temporary manner by pieces of spar.
3.
†a. A bar of wood used to fasten a gate or door. Obs. (Cf. spar v.1)
1596Spenser F.Q. v. xi. 4 The Prince..opening streight the Sparre, forth to him came. 1611Cotgr., Barre, a barre, or sparre, for a doore. 1647Hexham i, The sparre or bolt of a doore. 1668Wilkins Real Char. ii. x. §4. 257 Bolt, Barr, Sparr.
†b. fig. A prop or support. Obs.—1
1630Lord Banians 80 He gained great fame, whereunto his divining fortunes became such a sparre that he was made King of Delee.
c. A spoke, bar, or cross-bar.
In Scotland commonly applied to the bars or rails of a wooden fence or gate.
1687Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii, The Spars of a spinning Wheel. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), Spars are also the spokes of a Spinning-wheel. 1825Jamieson Suppl., Dog⁓rung, one of the spars which connect the stilts of a plough. 1882Stevenson New Arab. Nts. (1884) 306 ‘What's all this?’ cried the..host through the spars of the gate.
4. a. Naut. ‘The general term for all masts, yards, booms, gaffs, etc.’ (Young, 1846).
The comb. cant-spar is found somewhat earlier (1611).
1640in Entick London (1766) II. 170 Spars: Bonnispars [sic]. Cantspars. Small spars. 1794Rigging & Seamanship 43 Cant Spars, Ratling Spars, Boom Spars, Middling Spars, Small Spars. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xvii, We next sent ashore our spare spars and rigging. 1863P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 226 The spars will be slight, sufficient merely to give steadiness to the ship at sea. 1878T. L. Cuyler Pointed Papers 173 When the first blow of the cyclone tears our canvas from the spars.
fig.1848Thackeray Van. Fair xvii, Three young stock⁓brokers..sent this little spar out of the wreck..to good Mrs. Sedley. 1848Dickens Dombey i, Thus clinging fast to that slight spar within her arms, the mother drifted out upon the dark and unknown sea.
b. Aeronaut. Each of the main members of a wing on older aircraft, which run transversely to the fuselage and carry the ribs.
18661st Rep. Aëronaut. Soc. 35 But with all such arrangements the apparatus must fail—length of wing is indispensable! and a spar thirty feet long must be strong, heavy, and cumbrous. 1895Amer. Engineer & Railroad Jrnl. Aug. 387/2 Being caught by a side puff, the machine was blown over, and the front starboard spar was too much broken to mend on the field. 1919, etc. [see rib n.1 11 e]. 1930Nayler & Ower Aviation of To-Day vii. 154 The modern steel spar of an aeroplane wing..can be treated by calculation. 1960C. H. Gibbs-Smith Aeroplane xiii. 96 In 1919, he [sc. Adolph Rohrbach] started building smooth-skinned metal surfaces, combined with metal box-spar construction in the wings, thus allowing more stresses to be borne by the surfaces.
5. Oil Industry. Also Spar, SPAR. An installation intended to float above a submarine well-head and provide large storage tanks and various service facilities, esp. for loading tankers.
1973Times 31 Oct. (Offshore Supply Suppl.) p. iii/2 The concrete spar is anchored above a submarine manifold with pipelines from production platforms. The lower part of the spar is a 300,000-barrel capacity storage chamber. 1975Offshore Progress—Technol. & Costs (Shell Briefing Service) 18 One of the newest deep water concepts is the Spar—floating storage and loading terminal all in one. 1976Offshore Platforms & Pipelining 218 The SPAR has been designed to maintain a constant draft in both the loaded and ballasted conditions. 1979North Sea Progress (Shell Internat. Petroleum Co.) 8 Other methods involve..the use of custom-built SPAR-type semi-submersible production units.
6. attrib. and Comb., as spar-batten, spar-bridge, spar-pole, spar-raft, spar-wood; spar-maker.
1504in Gage Hist. & Antiq. Suffolk 140 The rofes to be sper batens, and jopies. 1578in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 306 Longe sparre poles of ffurre. 1752Records Elgin (New Spald. Cl.) I. 464 Ilk cart load..of sparwood or logs. 1798Survey of Province of Moray 100 Spar⁓wood..about 7 inches diameter, is sold at 7d. the solid foot. 1860Sat. Rev. 28 July 110/1 The master spar-maker, master blacksmith, and timber inspector. 1876Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 394/2 Spar Bridge, a light bridge for crossing broken arches, rivers with steep banks, &c. 1880Northwestern Lumberman 24 Jan., More than the usual number of spar rafts will be prepared this winter.
7. Special combs., as spar-buoy (see quot. 1883); † spar-dry a., perfectly dry (land); spar-dust (see quot.); † spar foot, a horizontal piece of wood supporting the lower end of a rafter; spar-naked a., stark naked; spar-piece (see quot.); spar shed a ship-building shed in which spars are stored; spar torpedo, a torpedo fastened on the end of a spar projecting from the bows of the boat; spar tree Forestry, a tree or other tall structure to which cables are attached for hauling logs; spar-yard a yard in which ship-spars are prepared.
1860Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 94 A *spar-buoy moored in 11 feet. 1883Chambers's Jrnl. 8 Dec. 772/1 A spar-buoy..is so designed that a spar or mast stands almost perpendicularly out of the water.
13..E.E. Allit. P. C. 338 Thenne oure fader to þe fysch ferslych biddez, þat he hym sput spakly vpon *spare drye.
a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia, *Spar-dust, powder of post; dust produced in wood by the depredation of boring insects.
1579in Willis & Clark Cambr. (1886) I. 311, xliiij copple of *sparr feete eche..iiij foote longe.
1849Blackw. Mag. LXV. 610 The poor fellow was *spar-naked.
1842Gwilt Archit. Gloss., *Spar-piece, a name given in some places to the collar beam of a roof.
1883Daily News 4 July 5/4 The scene at the *spar shed where the bodies are laid out for identification.
1878N. Amer. Rev. CXXVII. 384 Armed with the *spar-torpedo.
1925*Spar tree [see high lead s.v. high a. 21]. 1965[see high line s.v. high a. 21]. 1980Beautiful Brit. Columbia Fall 40 Atop the cliff stands a long-disused spar tree; close by the bay are the broken bricks, cement and tile that testify to a long-abandoned project here.
1868Whitman Poems, Song of the Broad-Axe iii, Spar-makers in the *spar-yard.
▪ II. spar, n.2 Min.|spɑː(r)|
Also 6–7 sparr.
[ad. MLG. spar, sper (also in combs. sparglas, -kalk, MHG. sparchalch), related to OE. spæren gypsum, spærstán spar-stone.]
1. A general term for a number of crystalline minerals more or less lustrous in appearance and admitting of easy cleavage.
A large number of varieties are distinguished by special epithets, as bitter, Bolognian, brown, calcareous, Derbyshire, Iceland, pearl, ponderous, rhomb, tabular: see these words and calc-, feld-, fluor-, heavy spar.
1581in Trans. Jewish Hist. Soc. Eng. (1903) IV. 96 In our copper ures were..a kinde of black stone (wherin the copper groweth), and a kinde of white stone named sparr. 1631E. Jorden Nat. Bathes vii. (1669) 45 Sparr, which the Dutch call Sput or Querts, shoots into points like Diamonds. 1653E. Manlove Customs Lead-mines 265 (E.D.S.), Cauke, Sparr, Lid-stones, Twitches, Daulings, and Pees. 1672Boyle Ess. Gems 91 The clear Spar, which in most of our Western Lead-Mines in England is found next to the Metalline Veins. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters III. 236 All perfectly petrified; some into bright crystallised spar. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 66 The pendent rocks were glazed with spar. 1832Tennyson Œnone 82 in Poems (1833) 55 Within the green hillside..Is an ingoing grotto, strown with spar. 1867Baker Nile Trib. xvii. (1872) 304 Immense quantities of very beautiful spar lay upon the surface in all directions.
b. pl. Different varieties of this.
1668Charleton Onomast. 274 Fluores,..Spars. 1695Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth iv. 179 Gemms or Stones that are here shot into Cubes.., the Bristow-Stones, Crystallized Sparrs, the Iris,..and several others. 1797Monthly Mag. III. 203 Matlock is much noted for its..curious spars and fossils. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles iii. xxviii, And o'er his head the dazzling spars Gleam like a firmament of stars! 1823Byron Island ii. vii, Or cavern sparkling with its native spars.
2. a. A fragment or particle of spar. Also transf.
1855[Miss Cobbe] Ess. Intuitive Morals 117 The waters of our spiritual life..stand in need of rocks and falls or at least of spars or pebbles, to freshen them by their resistance. 1873Dixon Two Queens xvi. i. III. 186 Love, romance, generosity, were as foreign to the soul of Charles as to a spar of ice.
b. An ornament made of spar.
1851Mayhew Lond. Lab. I. 370/2 ‘Spars,’ as spar ornaments are called by the street-sellers. Ibid. 371/1 Some street-sellers have their spars in covered barrows.
3. attrib. and Comb., as spar-like adj., spar-lode, spar ornament, spar-rider, spar-seller.
1700? Mackworth Disc. Mine-Adventure, 2nd Abstract 12 We are Sumping and driving in the new Work in good firm..Oar, and the Spar-rider continues to under cut in Oar. 1778W. Pryce Min. Cornub. 91 This being a hard unmetallick petrifaction, thence called a Spar Lode by those unacquainted with real Spar. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) VI. 230/1 The spar-like gypsum, marmor metallicum. 1851Mayhew Lond. Lab. I. 370/2 The spar-sellers carried their goods..in strong baskets on their heads. Ibid. 371/1 Some of the spar ornaments are plain, white, and smooth.
▪ III. spar, n.3|spɑː(r)|
[f. spar v.2]
†1. A thrust. Obs.—1
c1400Destr. Troy 10684 Menestaus..Presit Polidamas & put hym of horse, With a spar of a speire.
2. A boxing-match; a display of boxing; a motion of sparring.
1814Monthly Mag. XXXVIII. 439 He's coming: I know the white steed from afar; He is not a man to be late at a spar. 1901Oxford Times 16 Mar. 4/2 Boxing: an interesting exhibition spar was given by..two boys.
3. A cock-fight.
1849D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yd. (1855) 45 Many of the handsomest game cocks..are already trimmed, (in the comb at least,) in case they should be wanted in a hurry for a private spar.
4. transf. A wordy contest or dispute.
1836–7Dickens Sk. Boz, Tales x, Mr. Timson..kept up a running spar with Mr. Watkins Tottle. 1841Hood Tale of Trumpet 661 Such wrangle, and jangle, and miff, and tiff, And spar, and jar. 1861Mrs. J. H. Riddell City & Suburb 207 Ruby faced out, and had a spar with him.
5. Comb., as sparmate U.S., a sparring partner.
1937Sun (Baltimore) 30 Aug. 15/2 Ten days ago one of his sparmates opened up a deep cut under his eye with a punch. 1950J. Dempsey Championship Fighting 15, I found plenty of kid sparmates. 1974Los Angeles Times 13 Oct. iii. 13/3 Chartchai, three-time world flyweight champion, has been staying at a Tokyo hotel,..with his wife and his manager and his wife, sparmate and trainer.
▪ IV. spar, n.4 dial.|spɑː(r)|
[Of doubtful origin: cf. the variant spear n.4]
A pointed and doubled rod used in securing thatch.
1746B.N.C. Muniments, Estates 43. 45, Sept. 7, Paid for one day worke of thacing, 1s. 6d. Paid for 500 of sparies, 1s. 3d. 1748Ibid. Feb. 26, Paid for 4500 of sparis, 11s. 3d. 1796W. H. Marshall Rur. Econ. W. Eng. I. 330 Spars, thatching rods. 1825Jennings Obs. Dial. W. Eng. 71 The pointed sticks, doubled and twisted in the middle, and used for fixing the thatch of a roof, are called spars: they are commonly made of split willow rods. 1874T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd xxxvi, The dull thuds of the beetle which drove in the spars.
b. attrib., as spar-gad, spar-hook, spar-house, spar-rod.
1844Barnes Poems Rur. Life (1848) 387. 1863 Moncrieff Dream in I. of Wight Gloss. (E.D.S.) 52 He skulks through the copses for sparods and ledgers. 1886T. Hardy Woodlanders ii, A bundle of the straight, smooth hazel rods called spar-gads. Ibid. iv, [He] crossed over to the spar-house where some journey-men were already at work.
▪ V. † spar, n.5 Obs.
In 5–6 spare, sparr(e, 6 sper-, spear-, speyr.
[Irregular var. of sparth1.]
A long-handled axe; a soldier armed with this.
c1440Eng. Conq. Ireland (Rawl. MS.) 17 Speris and sparris. Ibid. 83 He..broght two Spares faste on his shelde. 1515St. Papers Hen. VIII, II. 5 The armye of every region excede not 200 sperys and 600 kerne. 1534Ibid. 185, 8 score fotmen, called kern, 10 scor spearys, callid gallagloghis; which 10 score sparris amountith to 20 score men. 1543Ibid. III. 444 Ther footemen..having every of them his weapon, callyd a sparre, moche like axe of the Towre, and they be named galloglasse. 1600J. Dymmok Ireland (1843) 7 He is named a spare of his weapon so called, 80 of which spares make a battell of Galloglass.
attrib.1539St. Papers Hen. VIII, III. 142 His armie..be but chorles and plowmen, and..his sparr men went from hym.
▪ VI. † spar, n.6 Obs.—1
[f. spar v.1]
A check or impediment.
1613Day Dyall ix. (1614) 263 First that this Kingdome of Grace be not hindred by many spars and lets that it hath what with the World, the Flesh, and the Divell.
▪ VII. † spar, n.7 Obs.—0
In 7 sparre.
[Of obscure origin.]
The purre or stint.
1668Charleton Onomast. 108 Junco,..the Stint, or Sparre, or Perr.
▪ VIII. spar, n.8
Anglicized form of sparus.
1881Rawlinson Hist. Anc. Egypt I. ii. 84 Among other delicate fish produced by the Nile may be mentioned..the spar (Sparus Niloticus).
▪ IX. spar, v.1|spɑː(r)|
Forms: α. 3 sperren, 4–6 sperre, 5 sper, 7 sperr. β. 4–7 sparre, 4 sparr, 5– spar.
[In the α-forms app. ad. MDu. sperren (Du. sperren), = OHG. sperran (MHG. and G. sperren; hence Da. spærre, Sw. spärra), f. the stem sparr- spar n.1 The β-forms may be a normal alteration of this, or may represent the base of OE. ᵹesparrian and besparrian bespar v. For further variants in ME. and later use see spare v.2 and spear v.1]
1. trans. To fasten (a door or gate) with a bar or bolt; to shut or close firmly or securely. Also occas. with up. Now arch.
αc1200Ormin 4122 Forr swa..Wass Paradisess ȝate sperrd Ȝæn all mannkinn onn eorþe. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 240 To maynten forth þe werre..Þe entres did þei sperre, & hold þam in Snowdoun. c1450Cursor M. 10420 (Laud), She sperrid her doris and wept sore. c1462Paston Lett. II. 87 The yates of Lynne..weren fast sperred. 1483Cath. Angl. 354/1 To Sperre, claudere. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. May 224 If he chaunce come when I am abroade, Sperre the yate fast for feare of fraude. 1596― F.Q. v. x. 37 The other which was entred, laboured fast To sperre the gate.
βa1300Cursor M. 2788 Fast þe dors þan did he sparr [Gött. bar]. a1400N. T. (Paues) Acts xii. 14 Sche..lefte þo ȝhate sparde, ande tolde hem þat Peter stondes bifore þe ȝate. 1484Cal. Letter-Bks. Lond. ‘L’ 202 b, That every nyght..thei Shitte and Sparre their doores at the hour of ix⊇ of the Clok. a1529Skelton Ware the Hauke 91 The church dores were sparred, Fast boltyd and barryd. 1555Eden Decades (Arb.) 143 Excepte they take good heede that the doores bee well sparde. 1614Gorges Lucan i. 5 So when all iarres doe end their dates, Ianus may sparre his Iron gates. 1626B. Jonson Staple of N. ii. iv. (1905) 47, I haue heard you..cauke your windores, spar up all your doores. 1674Ray N. Co. Words 44 To Spar the Door, to bolt, bar, pin, or shut it... This word is also used in Norfolk. 1825in Jamieson Suppl. 1888Doughty Arabia Deserta I. 193 The gate was sparred, and the old man made no speed to come down and undo for us.
b. In fig. contexts. Also absol.
c1400Apol. Loll. 34 He closiþ, and þan no man opuniþ; he opuniþ, and þan no man sperriþ. 1435Misyn Fire of Love 16 Þai treuly sal haue power to spar heuen to þame. 1555Latimer Let. in Serm. & Rem. (1845) 437 Or else the doors [of heaven] will be shut up [v.r. sparred up before ye come], that ye cannot go in. 1612J. Davies (Heref.) Muse's Sacrifice Wks. (Grosart) II. 56/1 Thus shall each pious person pray to thee in fitting time (yer Mercies Gate be sparr'd).
†2. In general use: To close, fasten, secure, lock, etc. Also with up.
c1200Ormin Ded. 261 He sahh..an boc Bisett wiþþ seffne innseȝȝless, & sperrd swa swiþe wel þatt itt Ne mihhte nan wihht oppnenn. Ibid. 12155 Forr Cristess þohht wass sperrd..Wiþþinnenn & wiþþutenn. c1400Rom. Rose 3320 He tought it [my heart] so hym for to obey, That he it sparrede with a key. a1425tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 14 Aftirward it [sc. the fistula] is opned by itself, and renneþ as it is seid afore, and aftirward it is sperred. 1430–40Lydg. Bochas ix. xxxv. (1554) 215 b, [He] Closed hys booke, and shet it in his chest, But ere he might sperre it with the keye [etc.]. 1615T. Adams Black Devil 19 He lockes the doores after him, sparres up the heart with security, that his treasure be not stolne.
†3. To confine, enclose, or imprison, to shut up, in a place. Obs.
a1240Wohunge in O.E. Hom. I. 285 Mi bodi henge wið þi bodi neiled o rode, sperred querfaste wið-inne fowr wahes. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 9501 Ȝyf he wyþ sege sperre me her-yn. Ibid. 11824 As wyþ þe Romayns for to werre, Þat alle men in þer daunger sperre. a1400Hylton Scala Perf. i. xvi. (W. de W. 1494), And therefore as a wretche & outcaste..art sperred in a hous alone. c1440Alph. Tales 3 Sho was sparred in a cloce cell iij yere. 1583B. Melbancke Philotimus B b j, He..caused him to bee sparred faste in the same tower. 1586Warner Alb. Eng. ii. xii. (1589) 50 There sparred vp in gates, The valiant Thæbane..a following fight awaites. a1600Floddan Field (1664) i. 10 Our startling Nags in Stables sparde, Are waxen wild with too much rest.
refl.1535Coverdale Ezek. iii. 24 Go thy waye, and sparre thy selff in thyne house.
†4. To shut (a person or thing) out or in. Obs.
c1430Life St. Kath. (1884) 66 Sorwyng þat mankynde was spard out..from þe delytes of paradyse. c1460Towneley Myst. iii. 128 Anoynt thi ship with pik and tar.., The water out to spar. 1483Cath. Angl. 354/1 To Sperre jn, jncludere. Ibid., To Sperre oute, excludere. 1530Palsgr. 728/1 What meanyth this woman, she sperryth me out, she callyth me agayne. 1535Coverdale 1 Sam. xxi. 7 But the same daye was there a man sparred in before the Lorde.
†5. To fix or fasten together or down. Obs.
1591Fletcher Russe Commonw. (Hakl. Soc.) 78 They haue drummes besides of a huge bignesse, which they carry..on foure horses, that are sparred together with chaines. a1722Lisle Husb. (1757) 202 It is very good husbandry to top hay or corn-reeks with well wetted helms, that they may be well sparred down.
▪ X. spar, v.2|spɑː(r)|
Also 5–6 sparre, 7–8 sparr.
[Of obscure origin.]
†1. intr. To dart or spring; to strike or thrust rapidly. Obs.
a1400–50Alexander 2975 With þat he brochis his blonke þat þe blode fames, Sparis [v.r. Sparrys] out spacly as sparke out of gledes. c1400Destr. Troy 6690 Teuser, with tene turnyt to Ector, Sparrit to hym with a speire. Ibid. 6914 He put hym to Paris.., Sparrit at hym with a spere.
2. Of cocks: To strike with the feet or spurs; to fight.
1570Levins Manip. 29 To sparre, as cocks do, confligere. 1686R. Blome Gentl. Recreat. ii. 279/1 Your Cocks having Sparred sufficiently. 1696R. H. Sch. Recreat. 144 Let him Sparr with another Cock. 1710Palmer Proverbs 255, ‘I'll teach you to sparr at your lady!’ and in a moment [she] twisted off his neck. 1776G. White Selborne lxxiii, A young cock will spar at his adversary before his spurs are grown. 1828in Blaine Encycl. Rural Sports (1840) 1208 The practice of permitting the stags and younger chickens to spar occasionally.
b. trans. To cause (a cock) to spar; to exercise in sparring.
1686R. Blome Gentl. Recreat. ii. 279/1 The Day following Spar him again. 1696R. H. Sch. Recreat. 145 The second Fortnight, twice a Week will be enough to Chase or Spar your Cock. 1832Marryat N. Forster xlv, They..fed and sparred them [cocks] to get them into wind.
3. To engage in or practise boxing; to make the motions of attack and defence with the arms and fists; to box. Also const. at.
1755Johnson, Spar, to fight with prelusive strokes. 1825C. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 85 Big George can teach the use of fives,..Or spar or keep the game alive [etc.]. 1833J. Nyren Yng. Cricketer's Tutor 38 The position of the wicket keeper in his standing, should be that of a man preparing to spar. 1847Alb. Smith Chr. Tadpole xli. (1879) 355 It appeared that two pugilists who were advertised to spar had not yet arrived.
fig.1809Malkin Gil Blas iv. xi. ⁋6 We..suspended the fray to spar a little with the flagon.
b. trans. With cognate object.
1901Oxford Times 16 Mar. 4/2 He..sparred a bye, in which the boxing was only of a light character.
4. To dispute; to bandy words.
1698Collier Immor. Stage iv. §5. 147 Jacinta spars again and says, I would have thee to know, thou graceless old Man, that I defy a Nunnery. 1741Richardson Pamela III. 346 What! sparring and jangling again, you Sluts! 1752Chesterfield Lett. ccxci. III. 336 Only women and little minds pout and spar for the entertainment of the company. 1854Thackeray Wolves & Lamb Wks. 1899 XII. 30 They spar so every night they meet. 1880Mrs. J. H. Riddell Myst. Palace Gardens xxvi, She liked to hear the two sparring.
b. trans. To argue or debate (questions).
a1734North Lives (1826) III. 336 Among his virtuoso friends and acquaintances he loved to spar questions and foment disputes.
▪ XI. spar, v.3|spɑː(r)|
[f. spar n.1 Cf. MDu. and MHG. sparren, ON. and MSw. sparra, older Da. sparre, in sense 1.]
1. trans. To furnish, make, or close in, with spars. Also fig.
1657–8in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) II. 97 Extraordinary repaires..for slating and sparring y⊇ chappell. 1805R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 52 For these purposes, one or more stalls may be sparred to the top. a1851Moir Snow xii. Poet. Wks. 1852 II. 388 The mill-wheel sparr'd with icicles, Reflects her silver ray. 1894Stevenson Lett. (1899) II. 333, I have a room now, a part of the twelve-foot verandah sparred in, at the most inaccessible end of the house.
2. Naut.
a. In pa. pple.: Provided with spars.
1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxxiv, She..[was] heavily sparred, with sails cut to a t. 1894Times 12 May 9/3 The vessel..was snugly sparred and canvased for the passage.
b. To fix spars across (the rigging) preparatory to rattling down.
c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 35 Commence sparring the rigging.
c. U.S. ‘To aid (a vessel) over a shallow bar by the use of spars and tackles’ (Cent. Dict.). Also with off.
1843T. Talbot Jrnls. (1931) 4 [We became] finally the prey of an insidious sand-bar, where after hours of sparring,..we again resume the slow ascent. 1875‘Mark Twain’ in Atlantic Mag. May 568/1 Maybe she ‘strikes and swings’. Then she has to while away several hours (or days) sparring herself off. 1883American VI. 40 At low water, the vessel has often to be sparred over sand-bars. |