spawn
/spɔn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.38 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To generate, bring into being, especially nonmammalian beings in very large numbers.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "A frog spawns thousands of tadpoles every year."
- "The web server spawns a new process to handle each client's request."
- "Weather Underground, a covert organization that spawned countless other would-be revolutionary cadres - the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), the Black Liberation Army, the May 19 Communist Organization each of which"
- "Alewives are anadromous fish: Born in freshwater, they spend their lives in the ocean, returning annually to their birthplaces to spawn."
- "We put down torches to stop creepers from spawning."
- "Where did he come from? Bro just spawned in."
Etymology
Recorded since 1413; from Middle English spawnen, from Anglo-Norman espaundre, from Old French espandre, from Latin expandere (“stretch out; spread out”, verb). Doublet of expand. Compare also Middle English spalden, spolden, spawden (“to cut open (a fish)”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: spawnen, espaundre, espandre, expandere, spawne
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /spɔn/
- British English: /spɔːn/