spae
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spae
1250–1300; Middle English span < Old Norse spā
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I'm a safe carle, and can spae fortunes as well as blaw up thae green bags wi' thriftless wind.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 4 by Various
“Gie’s your loof,9 hinny,” says she, “and let me spae your weird to ye.”
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 11 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis
She continued to twirl her distaff, seemingly unconscious of his presence, and also, after her own fashion, to "spae" the fortune of young Harry Bertram, just as Mannering had so lately been doing himself.
From Red Cap Tales Stolen from the Treasure Chest of the Wizard of the North by Scott, Walter, Sir
Well, Miriam, you used to spae fortunes for a living.
From The Unseen Bridgegroom or, Wedded For a Week by Fleming, May Agnes
That ye like weel, an wad his fortune learn, I shall employ the farthest o' my skill, To spae it faithfully, be't good or ill.
From The Genius of Scotland or Sketches of Scottish Scenery, Literature and Religion by Turnbull, Robert
“When I was but a little child, To me ’twas spaed that a knight should come From foreign land, should Allevod slay, And to England’s realm should bear me home. p.
From Ermeline a ballad by Borrow, George Henry
I see a heron from the marsh go sailing in the sky, The purple moor is like a dream, a star is twinkling clear— Perhaps the meeting that she spaed is drawing very near!
From Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie, and other poems by Crawford, Isabella Valancy
It was common for coy damsels and staid matrons to wend their way to Lizzie's cot about twilight, to have their fortunes spaed.
From The Mysteries of All Nations Rise and Progress of Superstition, Laws Against and Trials of Witches, Ancient and Modern Delusions Together With Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales by Grant, James, archaeologist
I know the old wife spaed me true, for did she not fore-tell I'd break a ring with Ronald Grey beside the Hidden Well?
From Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie, and other poems by Crawford, Isabella Valancy
The death of woe, spaed long ago, They’ll wreak on him now, I reckon.
From The Songs of Ranild by Wise, Thomas James
"I think nae mair on't, man—sir, I mean, for ye proved yoursel' a gentleman to me afore—than I do now in spaeing twins to your wife at her next doun-lying."
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 21 by Leighton, Alexander
For the first time he spoke of the weird-wife's spaeing.
From The Path of the King by Buchan, John
Olaf fell a-longing to test the spaeing of this man.
From Olaf the Glorious A Story of the Viking Age by Leighton, Robert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
