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spindrift

 - 3 dictionary results

spin⋅drift

  [spin-drift]
Use spindrift in a Sentence
–noun
spray swept by a violent wind along the surface of the sea.
Also, spoondrift.

Origin:
1590–1600; var. of Scots speendrift spoondrift
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To spindrift
spin·drift   (spĭn'drĭft')   
n.  Windblown sea spray. Also called spoondrift.

[Variant of Scots spenedrift : spene (variant of obsolete spoon, to run before the wind) + drift.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

spindrift 
1600, Scottish formation from verb spene, alteration of spoon "to sail before the wind" (1576, of uncertain origin) + drift. "Common in English writers from c 1880, probably at first under the influence of W. Black's novels" [OED].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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