Etymograph

English

span

Span comes from Middle English spanne ‘a span’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-1‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*spannō1‘span, handbreadth’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150spann1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spanne1‘a span’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1699span1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English span
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1699, George Farquhar: “Life's but a span; I'll every inch enjoy.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-Wiktionary, English span‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*spannōWiktionary, English span‘span, handbreadth’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150spannWiktionary, English span
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spanneWiktionary, English span‘a span’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1699spanWiktionary, English span. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1699, George Farquhar: “Life's but a span; I'll every inch enjoy.”

The story

The sense “pair of horses” is probably from Old English ġespan, ġespann (‘a joining; a fastening together; clasp; yoke’), from Proto-West Germanic [Term?].

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’

expensive, spend, compensation, pound, expense, pension, depend, compensate, expenditure, appendix, penthouse, perpendicular, pendant, 28 more

Another origin of span

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*spannaną‘to stretch, span’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150spannan‘to span, clasp, fasten, attach, join, link’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spannen‘to tie around, wrap’
  4. Englishtodayspan

Today it means

noun The full width of an open hand from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger used as an informal unit of length.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “span”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- / span

Shirt and support for this word