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on the spur of the moment

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spur

1  [spur] ,noun, verb, spurred, spur⋅ring.
Use on the spur of the moment in a Sentence
–noun
1. a U-shaped device that slips over and straps to the heel of a boot and has a blunt, pointed, or roweled projection at the back for use by a mounted rider to urge a horse forward.
2. anything that goads, impels, or urges, as to action, speed, or achievement.
3. climbing iron.
4. Ornithology. a stiff, usually sharp, horny process on the leg of various birds, esp. the domestic rooster, or on the bend of the wing, as in jacanas and screamers.
5. Pathology. a bony projection or exostosis.
6. a sharp piercing or cutting instrument fastened to the leg of a gamecock in cockfighting; gaff.
7. Physical Geography. a ridge or line of elevation projecting from or subordinate to the main body of a mountain or mountain range.
8. something that projects and resembles or suggests a gaff; sharp projection.
9. a short or stunted branch or shoot, as of a tree.
10. Typography. a short, seriflike projection from the bottom of the short vertical stroke in the capital G in some fonts.
11. wing dam.
12. Botany.
a. a slender, usually hollow, projection from some part of a flower, as from the calyx of the larkspur or the corolla of the violet.
b. Also called spur shoot. a short shoot bearing flowers, as in fruit trees.
13. Architecture.
a. a short wooden brace, usually temporary, for strengthening a post or some other part.
b. any offset from a wall, as a buttress.
c. griffe 2 .
14. Ceramics. a triangular support of refractory clay for an object being fired.
15. Railroads. spur track.
–verb (used with object)
16. to prick with or as if with a spur or spurs; incite or urge on: The rider spurred his mount ruthlessly. Appreciation spurs ambition.
17. to strike or wound with the spur, as a gamecock.
18. to furnish with spurs or a spur.
–verb (used without object)
19. to goad or urge one's horse with spurs or a spur; ride quickly.
20. to proceed hurriedly; press forward: We spurred onward through the night.
—Idioms
21. on the spur of the moment, without deliberation; impulsively; suddenly: We headed for the beach on the spur of the moment.
22. win one's spurs, to achieve distinction or success for the first time; prove one's ability or worth: Our team hasn't won its spurs yet.
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME spure, OE spura; c. OHG sporo, ON spori spur; akin to spurn; (v.) ME spuren, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
spurless, adjective
spurlike, adjective
spurrer, noun

Synonyms:
1, 2. goad. 2. incitement, stimulus, incentive, inducement, provocation, instigation. 16. goad, provoke, stimulate, impel, inspire, induce, instigate.

Antonyms:
16. discourage.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

spur  (n.)
O.E. spura, spora (related to spurnan "to kick," see spurn), from P.Gmc. *spuron (cf. O.N. spori, M.Du. spore, Du. spoor, O.H.G. sporo, Ger. Sporn "spur"), from PIE *spere- "ankle" (see spurn). Generalized sense of "anything that urges on, stimulus," is from c.1390. Meaning "a ridge projecting off a mountain mass" is recorded from 1652. The verb is attested c.1205, from the noun. "Widely extended senses ... are characteristic of a horsey race." [Weekley] Expression on the spur of the moment (1801) preserves archaic phrase on the spur "in great haste" (1525). To win one's spurs is to gain knighthood by some valorous act, gilded spurs being the distinctive mark of a knight.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: spur
Pronunciation: 'sp&r
Function: noun
: a sharp and especially bony outgrowth (as on the heel of the foot) —spurred /'sp&rd/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

spur (spûr)
n.
A spine or projection from a bone.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
spur   (spûr)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A small ridge that projects sharply from the side of a larger hill or mountain.

  2. A projection from a bone, as on the heel of the foot.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

on the spur of the moment

Impulsively, without prior preparation, as in He decided to join a tour to England on the spur of the moment. This expression alludes to the goading action of a spur to a horse. [Late 1700s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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