sprig

[sprig]

noun

1. a small spray of some plant with its leaves, flowers, etc.

2. an ornament having the form of such a spray.

3. a shoot, twig, or small branch.

4. Facetious.,  a scion, offspring, or heir of a family, class, etc.

5. a youth or young fellow.

6. glazier's point.

7. a headless brad.

8. Metallurgy.

   1. a small peg for reinforcing the walls of a mold.

   2. a metal insert, used to chill certain portions of cast metal, that becomes an integral part of the finished casting.

verb (used with object)

sprigged, sprigging 

1. to mark or decorate (fabrics, pottery, etc.) with a design of sprigs.

2. to fasten with brads.

3. Horticulture.,  to propagate a plant, especially grass, by planting individual stolons.

4. Metallurgy.,  to reinforce the walls of (a mold) with sprigs.

5. to remove a sprig or sprigs from (a plant).

sprig

/ sprɪɡ /

noun

1. a shoot, twig, or sprout of a tree, shrub, etc; spray

2. an ornamental device resembling a spray of leaves or flowers

3. a small wire nail without a head

4. informal,  a youth

5. informal,  a person considered as the descendant of an established family, social class, etc

6. another name for stud 1

verb

1. to fasten or secure with sprigs

2. to ornament (fabric, wallpaper, etc) with a design of sprigs

3. to make sprays from (twigs and branches)

Other Word Forms

• spriggy adjective
• sprigger noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sprig¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sprigge (noun); origin uncertain; sense “peg” perhaps of distinct origin; sprag ¹, spray ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of sprig¹

C15: probably of Germanic origin; compare Low German sprick, Swedish sprygg

Example Sentences

While shooting the film at an airport off the east coast of Panama, Herzog, in costume, spotted a man on the other side of a high fence holding a sprig of flowers in his hand.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Catherine, dressed in a bottle-green and percher hat, presented the traditional sprigs of shamrock to officers, guardsmen and mascot Seamus, the Irish wolfhound, at the regiment's annual parade at Wellington Barracks.

Read more on BBC

Already, there are sprigs of green growth in that yard.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Garnish with a sprig or two of watercress or arugula.

Read more on Salon

Rihab’s uncle placed two sprigs of artificial cherry blossom atop the grave, for the two girls, and later someone else laid a wreath for a stranger buried beside them.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• sprout 
• twig