spar1
- Nautical. a stout pole such as those used for masts, etc.; a mast, yard, boom, gaff, or the like.
- Aeronautics. a principal lateral member of the framework of a wing of an airplane.
- to provide or make with spars.
Origin of spar1
spar2
- (of boxers) to make the motions of attack and defense with the arms and fists, especially as a part of training.
- to box, especially with light blows.
- to strike or attack with the feet or spurs, as gamecocks do.
- to bandy words; dispute.
- a motion of sparring.
- a boxing match.
- a dispute.
Origin of spar2
spar3
- any of various more or less lustrous crystalline minerals: fluorspar.
Origin of spar3
SPAR
or Spar
- (during World War II) a woman enlisted in the women's reserve of the U.S. Coast Guard (disbanded in 1946).
Origin of SPAR
SpAr
- Spanish Arabic.
Examples from the Web for spar
Contemporary Examples
Spar has a new book titled The Baby Business: How Money, Science and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception.
Want Blue Eyes With That Baby?: The Strange New World of Human ReproductionEleanor Clift
November 24, 2014
Asked if the ability to reproduce should be a human right, Spar said she would leave that for the philosophers to think about.
Want Blue Eyes With That Baby?: The Strange New World of Human ReproductionEleanor Clift
November 24, 2014
But an island any less menacing would fail to breed a villain who could hope to spar with James Bond.
But Cruz followed Lee on the Senate floor to spar with McCain.
By Monday, however, Santorum had learned to deflect questions on hot-button social issues rather than spar with potential voters.
Historical Examples
You just spar with yourself and get limbered up, while I put some wood on the fire.
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
The man was placed horizontally on a base board beneath the spar.
Flying MachinesW.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell
Every man and spar and oar on the vessel seemed burning in its light.
Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, MycenaeJennie Hall
The sheet is led aft to a spar that projects beyond the counter.
Boys' Book of Model BoatsRaymond Francis Yates
When she appeared he caught her in his arms as if she were a spar and he a drowning sailor.
In a Little TownRupert Hughes
spar1
- any piece of nautical gear resembling a pole and used as a mast, boom, gaff, etc
- (as modifier)a spar buoy
- a principal supporting structural member of an aerofoil that runs from tip to tip or root to tip
Word Origin
spar2
- boxing martial arts to fight using light blows, as in training
- to dispute or argue
- (of gamecocks) to fight with the feet or spurs
- an unaggressive fight
- an argument or wrangle
- informal a close friend
Word Origin
spar3
- any of various minerals, such as feldspar or calcite, that are light-coloured, microcrystalline, transparent to translucent, and easily cleavableRelated adjective: spathic
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for spar
n.1
"stout pole," c.1300, "rafter," from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch sparre, from Proto-Germanic *sparron (cf. Old English *spere "spear, lance," Old Norse sperra "rafter, beam"), from PIE root *sper- "spear, pole" (see spear (n.1)). Nautical use dates from 1640. Also borrowed in Old French as esparre, which may have been the direct source of the English word.
v
"to box," c.1400, "to strike or thrust," perhaps from Middle French esparer "to kick," from Italian sparare "to fling," from Latin ex- (see ex-) + parare "make ready, prepare," hence "ward off, parry" (see pare). Used in 17c. in reference to preliminary actions in a cock fight; figurative sense of "to dispute, bandy with words" is from 1690s. Extension to humans, with meaning "to engage in or practice boxing" is attested from 1755. Related: Sparred; sparring.
n.2
"shiny mineral that splits easily," 1580s, from Low German Spar, from Middle Low German *spar, sper, cognate with Old English spær- in spærstan "gypsum."