Etymograph

English

sprack

Sprack comes from Proto-Germanic *sparkaz ‘energetic, lively’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sp(h)er(a)g- ‘to strew, sprinkle’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sp(h)er(a)g-1‘to strew, sprinkle’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sparkaz1‘energetic, lively’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350sparkr1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sprak1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1864sprack1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English sprack
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1864, Jean Ingelow: “She was apprenticed as a 'pupil teacher,' at fourteen…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sp(h)er(a)g-Wiktionary, English sprack‘to strew, sprinkle’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sparkazWiktionary, English sprack‘energetic, lively’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350sparkrWiktionary, English sprack
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sprakWiktionary, English sprack
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1864sprackWiktionary, English sprack. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1864, Jean Ingelow: “She was apprenticed as a 'pupil teacher,' at fourteen…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *sparkaz ‘energetic, lively’

spark, 1 more

Today it means

adj lively, full of energy

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sprack”. 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 *sp(h)er(a)g- / sprack

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