spencer

¹

[spen-ser]

noun

1. a short, close-fitting jacket, frequently trimmed with fur, worn in the 19th century by women and children.

2. a man's close-fitting jacket, having a collar and lapels and reaching just below the waist, worn in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

3. an English wig of the 18th century.

Spencer

²

[spen-ser]

noun

Military.

1. a .52 caliber, lever-action repeating rifle and carbine patented in the U.S. in 1860 and used by the Union army and navy in the Civil War.

spencer

³

[spen-ser]

noun

Nautical.

1. a large gaff sail used abaft a square-rigged foremast or abaft the mainmast of a ship or bark.

Spencer

⁴

[spen-ser]

noun

1. Charles, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, 1674–1722, British statesman: prime minister 1718–21.

2. Herbert, 1820–1903, English philosopher.

3. Platt Rogers 1800–64, U.S. calligrapher and teacher of penmanship.

4. a town in NW Iowa.

5. a town in central Massachusetts.

6. a male given name.

Spencer

¹

/ ˈspɛnsə /

noun

1. Herbert. 1820–1903, English philosopher, who applied evolutionary theory to the study of society, favouring laissez-faire doctrines

2. Sir Stanley. 1891–1959, English painter, noted esp for his paintings of Christ in a contemporary English setting

spencer

²

/ ˈspɛnsə /

noun

1. a short fitted coat or jacket

2. a woman's knitted vest

spencer

³

/ ˈspɛnsə /

noun

1. nautical a large loose-footed gaffsail on a square-rigger or barque

Word History and Origins

Origin of spencer¹

1740–50; spencer ¹ in defs. 1, 2 named after G. J. Spencer (1758–1834), English earl; spencer ¹ in def. 3 named after Charles Spencer

Origin of spencer²

First recorded in 1830–40; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of spencer¹

C18: named after Earl Spencer (1758–1834)

Origin of spencer²

C19: perhaps after the surname Spencer

Example Sentences

A four-month-old Spencer Elden was pictured swimming naked underwater on the 1991 LP's famous cover.

From BBC

Spencer Steer and Gavin Lux had no chance.

From Los Angeles Times

The Journal updated its headline later that day to read, “Early Bulletin Said Ammunition in Kirk Shooting Engraved With Transgender, Antifascist Ideology; Some Sources Urge Caution” and appended an editor’s note the following day after Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s description of the engravings did not suggest any references to trans people or “ideology.”

From Salon

In the UK, a number of big businesses have been hit by cyber attacks in recent months including Harrods, Jaguar Land Rover, Marks and Spencer and the Co-op.

From BBC

It was also behind a number of high-profile attacks on retailers earlier this year, including Marks & Spencer and Co-op.

From BBC