Span definition | Dictionary.com

span

1 [span]

,noun, verb, spanned, span⋅ning.

–noun

1.	the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended.

2.	a unit of length corresponding to this distance, commonly taken as 9 in. (23 cm).

3.	a distance, amount, piece, etc., of this length or of some small extent: a span of lace.

Civil Engineering, Architecture.

a.	the distance between two supports of a structure.

b.	the structure so supported.

c.	the distance or space between two supports of a bridge.

5.	the full extent, stretch, or reach of anything: a long span of memory.

6.	Aeronautics. the distance between the wing tips of an airplane.

7.	a limited space of time, as the term or period of living: Our span on earth is short.

8.	Mathematics. the smallest subspace of a vector space that contains a given element or set of elements.

–verb (used with object)

9.	to measure by the hand with the thumb and little finger extended.

10.	to encircle with the hand or hands, as the waist.

11.	to extend over or across (a section of land, a river, etc.).

12.	to provide with something that extends over: to span a river with a bridge.

13.	to extend or reach over (space or time): a memory that spans 90 years.

14.	Mathematics. to function (in a subspace of a vector space) as a span.

15.	Archery. to bend (the bow) in preparation for shooting.

Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME spanne, sponne, spayn, OE span(n), spon(n); c. G Spanne, D span, ON spǫnn; (v.) ME spaynen, deriv. of the n.

span

2 [span]

–noun

a pair of horses or other animals harnessed and driven together.

Origin:
1760–70, Americanism; < D: team (of oxen, horses)

Synonyms:
team. See pair.

span

3 [span]

–verb Archaic.

a pt. of spin.

Span.

Spaniard.

Spanish.

spin

[spin]

verb, spun or (Archaic

) span, spun, spin⋅ning, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.	to make (yarn) by drawing out, twisting, and winding fibers: Pioneer women spun yarn on spinning wheels.

2.	to form (the fibers of any material) into thread or yarn: The machine spins nylon thread.

3.	(of spiders, silkworms, etc.) to produce (a thread, cobweb, gossamer, silk, etc.) by extruding from the body a long, slender filament of a natural viscous matter that hardens in the air.

4.	to cause to turn around rapidly, as on an axis; twirl; whirl: to spin a coin on a table.

5.	Informal. to play (phonograph records): a job spinning records on a radio show.

6.	Metalworking. to shape (sheet metal) into a hollow, rounded form by pressure from a tool while rotating the metal on a lathe or wheel.

7.	to produce, fabricate, or evolve in a manner suggestive of spinning thread: to spin a tale of sailing ships and bygone days.

8.	Rocketry. to cause intentionally (a rocket or guided missile) to undergo a roll.

9.	to draw out, protract, or prolong (often fol. by out): He spun the project out for over three years.

10.	British. to flunk a student in an examination or a term's work.

11.	Slang. to cause to have a particular bias; influence in a certain direction: His assignment was to spin the reporters after the president's speech.

–verb (used without object)

12.	to revolve or rotate rapidly, as the earth or a top.

13.	to produce a thread from the body, as spiders or silkworms.

14.	to produce yarn or thread by spinning.

15.	to move, go, run, ride, or travel rapidly.

16.	to have a sensation of whirling; reel: My head began to spin and I fainted.

17.	to fish with a spinning or revolving bait.

–noun

18.	the act of causing a spinning or whirling motion.

19.	a spinning motion given to a ball, wheel, axle, or other object.

20.	a downward movement or trend, esp. one that is sudden, alarming, etc.: Steel prices went into a spin.

21.	a rapid run, ride, drive, or the like, as for exercise or enjoyment: They went for a spin in the car.

22.	Slang. a particular viewpoint or bias, esp. in the media; slant: They tried to put a favorable spin on the news coverage of the controversial speech.

23.	Also called tailspin, tail spin. Aeronautics. a maneuver in which an airplane descends in a vertical direction along a helical path of large pitch and small radius at an angle of attack greater than the critical angle, dangerous when not done intentionally or under control.

24.

Rocketry.

a.	the act of intentionally causing a rocket or guided missile to undergo a roll.

b.	a roll so caused.

25.	Also called spin angular momentum. Physics. the intrinsic angular momentum characterizing each kind of elementary particle, having one of the values 0, ¹/₂ , 1, ³/₂ , … when measured in units of Planck's constant divided by 2π.

26.	Australian. a run of luck; fate.

—Verb phrase

27.

spin off,

a.	to create something new, as a company or assets, without detracting from or affecting the relative size or stability of the original: After the acquisition, the company was required to spin off about a third of its assets.

b.	to derive from or base on something done previously: They took the character of the maid and spun off another TV series.

—Idioms

28.	spin one's wheels. wheel (def. 27).

29.	spin out, (of an automobile) to undergo a spinout.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME spinnen to spin yarn, OE spinnan; c. D, G spinnen, ON spinna, Goth spinnan

Related forms:

spin⋅na⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun

spin⋅na⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
7. develop, narrate, relate. 9. extend, lengthen. 11. gyrate. See turn.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Span

span¹ (spān)

The extent or measure of space between two points or extremities, as of a bridge or roof; the breadth.
The distance between the tips of the wings of an airplane.
The section between two intermediate supports of a bridge.
Something, such as a railroad trestle or bridge, that extends from one point to another.
The distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended, formerly used as a unit of measure equal to about nine inches (23 centimeters).
A period of time: a span of life.

tr.v. spanned, span·ning, spans

To measure by or as if by the fully extended hand.
To encircle with the hand or hands in or as if in measuring.
To extend across in space or time: a bridge that spans the gorge; a career that spanned 40 years.

[Middle English, unit of measurement, from Old English spann; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots.]

span² (spān)

tr.v. spanned, span·ning, spans
To bind or fetter.
n.

Nautical A stretch of rope made fast at either end.
A pair of animals, such as oxen, matched in size, strength, or color and driven as a team.

[Dutch spannen, to harness, from Middle Dutch; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots.]

span³ (spān)

v. Archaic
A past tense of spin.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Span

Span\, archaic imp. & p. p. of Spin.

Span

Span\, n. [AS. spann; akin to D. span, OHG. spanna, G. spanne, Icel. sp["o]nn. [root]170. See Span, v. t. ]

1. The space from the thumb to the end of the little finger when extended; nine inches; eighth of a fathom.

2. Hence, a small space or a brief portion of time.

Yet not to earth's contracted span Thy goodness let me bound. --Pope.

Life's but a span; I'll every inch enjoy. --Farquhar.

3. The spread or extent of an arch between its abutments, or of a beam, girder, truss, roof, bridge, or the like, between its supports.

4. (Naut.) A rope having its ends made fast so that a purchase can be hooked to the bight; also, a rope made fast in the center so that both ends can be used.

5. [Cf. D. span, Sw. spann, Dan. sp[ae]nd, G. gespann. See Span, v. t. ] A pair of horses or other animals driven together; usually, such a pair of horses when similar in color, form, and action.

Span blocks (Naut.), blocks at the topmast and topgallant-mast heads, for the studding-sail halyards.

Span counter, an old English child's game, in which one throws a counter on the ground, and another tries to hit it with his counter, or to get his counter so near it that he can span the space between them, and touch both the counters. --Halliwell. "Henry V., in whose time boys went to span counter for French crowns." --Shak.

Span iron (Naut.), a special kind of harpoon, usually secured just below the gunwale of a whaleboat.

Span roof, a common roof, having two slopes and one ridge, with eaves on both sides. --Gwilt.

Span shackle (Naut.), a large bolt driven through the forecastle deck, with a triangular shackle in the head to receive the heel of the old-fashioned fish davit. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Span

Span\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spanned; p. pr. & vb. n. Spanning.] [AS. pannan; akin to D. & G. spannen, OHG. spannan, Sw. sp["a]nna, Dan. sp[ae]nde, Icel. spenna, and perh. to Gr. ? to draw, to drag, L. spatium space. [root]170. Cf. Spin, v. t., Space, Spasm.]

1. To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object; as, to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder.

My right hand hath spanned the heavens. --Isa. xiviii. 13.

2. To reach from one side of to the order; to stretch over as an arch.

The rivers were spanned by arches of solid masonry. --prescott.

3. To fetter, as a horse; to hobble.

Span

Span\, v. i. To be matched, as horses. [U. S.]

Language Translation for : Span

Spanish: luz, palmo,

German: der Brückenbogen,

Japanese: さしわたし

More Translations »

span (n.1)

"distance between two objects," O.E. span "distance between the thumb and little finger of an extended hand," probably related to M.Du. spannen "to join, fasten" (see span (n.2)). The Gmc. word was borrowed into M.L. as spannus, hence It. spanna, O.Fr. espanne, Fr. empan. As a measure of length, roughly nine inches. Meaning "length of time" first attested 1599; that of "space between abutments of an arch, etc." is from 1725. Meaning "maximum lateral dimension of an aircraft" is first recorded 1909. Attention span is recorded from 1922.

span (v.)

O.E. spannen "to clasp, fasten, stretch, span," from P.Gmc. *spanwanan (cf. O.N. spenna, O.Fris. spanna, M.Du. spannen, O.H.G. spannan, Ger. spannen), from PIE base *(s)pen- "to draw, stretch, spin" (cf. L. pendere "to hang, to cause to hang," pondus "weight" (the weight of a thing measured by how much it stretches a cord), pensare "to weigh, consider;" Gk. ponein "to toil;" Lith. spendziu "lay a snare;" O.C.S. peti "stretch, strain," pato "fetter," pina "I span;" O.E. spinnan "to spin;" for other cognates, see spin). The meaning "to encircle with the hand(s)" is from 1781; in the sense of "to form an arch over (something)" it is first recorded 1633. Spanner (1639), the British name for the wrench, is from Ger., originally a tool for winding the spring of a wheel-lock firearm.

span (n.2)

"two animals driven together," 1769, from Du. span, from spannen "to stretch or yoke," from M.Du. spannen, cognate with O.E. spannen "to join" (see span (v.)).

Main Entry: span
Pronunciation: 'span
Function: noun
1 : an extent of distance or of time; especially : LIFE SPAN
2 : MEMORY SPAN

span

see spick and span.

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