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spar

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

to provide or make with spars.

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Spar is one of our favorite verbs.

So is subtilize. Does it mean:

to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.

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Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English sparre (noun); cognate with German Sparren, Dutch spar, Old Norse sparri

Related forms

spar·like, adjective

Example Sentences

The damage to the spar could have been catastrophic if the plane had hit turbulence.

He will not fall without a fight, as the boxers he used to spar with will attest.

Male impalas spar over territory to impress their female companions.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

verb (used without object)

(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.

noun

a motion of sparring.

a boxing match.

a dispute.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English: orig., thrust (noun and v.); perhaps akin to spur

noun

any of various more or less lustrous crystalline minerals: fluorspar.

Origin:
1575–85; back formation from sparstone spar, Old English spærstān gypsum; compare Middle Low German spar

Related forms

spar·like, adjective

noun

(during World War II) a woman enlisted in the women's reserve of the U.S. Coast Guard (disbanded in 1946).

Also, Spar.

Origin:
1942; < Latin S(emper) par(ātus) “Always ready” the Coast Guard motto

Spanish Arabic.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To spar

Collins

World English Dictionary

spar¹ (spɑː)

—n
1.	a. any piece of nautical gear resembling a pole and used as a mast, boom, gaff, etc
	b. (as modifier): a spar buoy
2.	a principal supporting structural member of an aerofoil that runs from tip to tip or root to tip

[C13: from Old Norse sperra beam; related to Old High German sparro, Old French esparre]

spar² (spɑː)

—vb , spars, sparring, sparred
1.	boxing, martial arts to fight using light blows, as in training
2.	to dispute or argue
3.	(of gamecocks) to fight with the feet or spurs

—n
4.	an unaggressive fight
5.	an argument or wrangle
6.	informal a close friend

[Old English, perhaps from spur]

spar³ (spɑː)

—n
	any of various minerals, such as feldspar or calcite, that are light-coloured, microcrystalline, transparent to translucent, and easily cleavableRelated: spathic

Related: spathic

[C16: from Middle Low German spar; related to Old English spærstān; see feldspar]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

spar

"stout pole," c.1300, "rafter," from M.L.G. or M.Du. sparre, from P.Gmc. *sparron (cf. O.E. *spere "spear, lance," O.N. sperra "rafter, beam"), from PIE base *sper- "spear, pole" (see spear). Nautical use dates from 1640. Also borrowed in O.Fr. as esparre, which may have been

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the direct source of the Eng. word.

spar

"to box," c.1400, "to strike or thrust," perhaps from M.Fr. esparer "to kick," from It. sparare "to fling," from L. ex- + parare "to ward off, parry" (see pare). Used in 17c. in ref. to preliminary actions in a cock fight; fig. sense of "to dispute, bandy with words" is from

1698. Extension to humans, with meaning "to engage in or practice boxing" is attested from 1755.

spar

"shiny mineral that splits easily," 1581, from Low Ger. Spar, from M.L.G. *spar, sper, cognate with O.E. spær- in spærstan "gypsum."

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