▪ I. spurn, n.1
(spɜːn)
Also 4–7 spurne, 4–5 sporn.
[f. spurn v.1]
† 1. A trip or stumble. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4324 Qua folus lang, wit-outen turn, Oft his fote sal find a spurn. Ibid. 4329. a 1375 Joseph Arim. 581 He hedde no space spedly him-seluen forto do him no dispit; þe sporn was his owne. ? a 1500 Chester Pl. i. 136 Beware yow of this Chayre, lest that yow have a fowle spurne. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 150 Nocht wittand weill quhome to that tyid to turne, For lidder speid cumis of airlie spurne. |
† 2. a. to hold (a) spurn, to make successful resistance. Obs.—1
| a 1300 Cursor M. 19414 Wit spec[h]e þai gaue him mani turn, Bot nan gain him moght hald spurn [Gött, a spurn]. |
† b. A pace or course (on horseback). Obs.—1
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 12759 Wawayn..byheld þat he cam so gret a spurne, He had no leyser his hors to turne. |
† c. An encounter, fray. Obs. rare.
| a 1500 Chevy Chase 136 in Child Ballads III. 310 At Otterburn begane this spurne, vppone a Monnynday. |
3. A stroke with the foot; a kick.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 23780 Qua herd a caitiuer crachun, Þat will noght bide to giue a spurn? c 1440 Gesta Rom. lxx. 323 (Harl. MS.), He lifte vp his foote, and gafe him a spurne aȝen þe brest. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. b iij b, When a certain feloe had..geuen him a spurne on the shynne, as he was gooyng on his waye in the strete. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 145 A young man beeing peruerse in nature,..gaue Socrates a spurne. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 30 Hee should haue..many a spurne and kicke with the foot. 1679 C. Ness Antichrist 46 Is not this like one of the spurns or kicks of the beast? 1708 Swift Rem. upon Book Wks. 1841 II. 182 Like the sick old lion in the fable, who..took nothing so much to heart as to find himself at last insulted by the spurn of an ass. 1851 Helps Comp. Solit. iv. 46 Alnaschar,..who with an imaginary spurn..disposed at once of all his splendid fortunes. |
| fig. c 1430 in Reliq. Antiq. I. 1 He gafe my mayden-hed a spurne. 1577 F. de L'isle's Legendarie F iij b, By this meanes they gaue so shrewd a spurne at the estate of this realme that it feleth it yet. 1612 Wither Juvenilia, Prince Hen. Obsequies (1633) 297 'Tis true, I know, Death with an equall spurn The lofty Turret and low Cottage beats. |
b. The act of kicking or spurning.
| 1641 Milton Reform. ii. Wks. 1851 III. 71 Where under..the trample and spurne of all the other Damned..they shall remaine in that plight for ever. 1650 Baxter Saints' R. iv. iii, The spurn of a man's foot destroys all their labour. 1842 Fraser's Mag. XXVI. 479 The sweep of the arms and the spurn of the legs must always be made under the water. 1893 F. Thompson Poems 49 With flying lightnings round the spurn o' their feet. |
| Comb. 1676 Doctrine of Devils 196 The Magical Seals, &c., whereby men might be preserved Shot-free, and consequently Stick-free, Cane-free, Spurn-free, Kick-free. |
4. The act of treating with disdain or contemptuous rejection; an instance of this.
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 73 The insolence of Office, and the Spurnes That patient merit of the vnworthy takes. 1646 W. Jenkyn Remora 9 Do the rowlings of a fathers bowels deserve our spurn? a 1680 Charnock Attrib. God (1834) II. 200 It is a spurn at God's sovereignty, and a slight of his goodness. 1875 Lowell in N. Amer. Rev. CXX. 370 There is an exulting spurn of earth in it, as of a soul just loosed from its cage. |
▪ II. spurn, n.2
(spɜːn)
Also 6–7 spurne, 9 spern.
[var. of spur n.1, prob. after prec. or spurn v.1]
1. † a. The beak of a war-galley. Obs.—1
| 1553 Brende Q. Curtius G ij, They came agaynste her wyth two galeies crosse upon her side: wherof the one strake ful with her Spurne. |
b. A sharp projection or edge on a horse-shoe. Now dial. or Obs. (Cf. sprun.)
| 1717 Sir W. Hope Solleysell's Compl. Horseman i. xxxi. 301 He makes him a pair of hinder Shoes with long Spurns or Plates before the Toes. 1834 Knowlson Cattle Doctor (1843) 154 Some horses cut with the spurn of the foot, and some with the heel. 1849 Teesdale Gloss. 123 Spurn. The toe of a horse's shoe, when sharpened in time of frost, is so called. |
2. An outward-growing root or rootlet; one of the main roots of a tree. Obs. exc. dial.
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 368 These Trees loue..to haue the superfluous spurnes rid away from the root. 1613 Markham Eng. Husbandman ii. ii. iv. (1635) 60 From the spurnes of the roote will arise new Spiers. 1793 Trans. Soc. Arts XI. 195 The butt or stem of an ash-tree, having the spurns left to it in felling. 1796– in dialect glossaries, etc. (Midl., Chesh., Shropsh., Warw.). |
| fig. 1620 Sanderson Serm. I. 160 If there be any sprigs or spurns of that root here. 1648 Ibid. II. 241 The flesh..is ever and anon putting forth spurns of avarice, ambition, envy. |
3. A slanting prop or stay; a spur or spur-stone.
| 1620–1 in North Riding Soc. (1885) III. 110 That a Wickham man be committed to the House of Corr[ectio]n for cutting downe a windemille spurne. 1847 in Halliwell (Linc.). 1866 Peacock Eng. Ch. Furniture 180 note, The fastenings or wooden supports—spurns, as a Lincolnshire man would say, of the ‘shafte’ or May-pole. |
b. Mining. (See quots.)
| 1837 L. Hebert Engin. & Mech. Encycl. I. 375 The spern, a small piece of coal left as a support to many tons above, which fall when this is taken away. 1860 Eng. & For. Mining Gloss. (ed. 2) 79 Spurns, small ties or connections, left between the coals hanging and the ribs and pillars. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 233 Spurns, narrow pillars or webs of coal between each holing, not cut away until the last thing before withdrawing the sprags. |
▪ III. † spurn, n.3
Variant of spoorn. Obs.
| 1614 Selden Titles Honor 164 The spurne Lilith..mentioned in holy Writ, which the Iews say is a Spirit very Dangerous to yong Children or Women in Childbirth. 1790 Grose Prov. Gloss. (ed. 2), Spurne, an evil spirit. Dorsetsh[ire]. |
▪ IV. spurn, v.1
(spɜːn)
Forms: 1 spurnan, spornan, 3–6 sporn(e, 3–7 spurne (5–6 spourne, 6 Sc. spwrne), 4– spurn (4 spourn, 5 Sc. spwrn, 6 spvrn).
[OE. spurnan, spornan strong v. (pa. tense spearn, pa. pple. -spornen), = OS. spurnan, ON. *sporna (pa. tense sparn), related to the weak vbs. OHG. spornôn, ON. sporna, OHG. spurnan, -en, ON. spyrna, and OHG. (fir)spirnen, ON. sperna, MSw. and Sw. spjärna. The stem is prob. that of spur n.1 In OE. the simple verb is less frequent than the compound ætspurnan.]
I. intr.
† 1. To strike against something with the foot; to trip or stumble. Also fig. Obs.
| c 1000 Ags. Psalter (Thorpe) xc. 12 Þe læs þu fræcne on stan fote spurne. a 1225 Ancr. R. 186 A child, ȝif hit spurneð o summe þing, oðer hurteð him, me bet þet þing þet hit hurteð on. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7710 As he rod an honteþ & par auntre is hors spurnde. a 1300 Cursor M. 3575 Quen þat [a man] sua bicums ald,..þan es eth þe fote to spurn. 1388 Wyclif Jer. xxxi. 9 Y schal brynge them..in a riȝtful, weie, thei shulen not spurne therynne. c 1400 Beryn 2862, I shall make hem spurn, & have a sore falle. c 1449 Pecock Repr. v. viii. 525 Lest if..the hors where left to his fredom..he schulde be in perel forto the oftir spurne. 1549–62 Sternhold & H. Ps. xci. 12 So that thy foote shall never chaunce to spurne at any stone. 1603 Proph. of T. Rymour (Bann. Cl.) 12 Where the water runnes bright and sheene Thair shal many steides spurne. 1639 Fuller Holy War iv. xxi. (1840) 218 And their legs so stand in men's way that few can go by them without spurning at them. 1714 Gay Trivia ii. 211 How can ye Laugh, to see the Damsel spurn, Sink in your Frauds and her green Stocking mourn? 1734 Arbuthnot, etc. Mart. Scriblerus viii. (1756) 39 The maid..ran up stairs, but spurning at the dead body, fell upon it in a swoon. |
† b. In proverbial contrast with speed. Chiefly Sc.
| 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. clxxxi, Quhen thai wald faynest speid, that thai may spurn. c 1440 York Myst. xxxix. 15, I sporne þer I was wonte to spede. a 1500 Ratis Raving ii. 362 That garris thaim spwrn quhen thai suld speid. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 226 Quha spurnis airlie cumis lidder speid. |
† 2. To strike or thrust with the foot; to kick (at something). Obs.
| ? c 1400 Lydg. æsop's Fab. i. 52 [The cock] On a smal dunghill..Gan to scrape and sporn. 15.. Smith & his Dame 301 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 212 Than she spvrned at hym so, That hys shynnes bothe two In sonder she there brake. 1592 Nashe P. Penilesse (ed. 2) 3 b, Who spurneth not at a dead dogge? 1598 Mucedorus Induct. 32 Where I may see them wallow in there blood, To spurne at armes and legges quite shiuered off [etc.]. 1690 [see sprunt v.]. 1740 Somerville Hobbinolia ii. 295 His Iron Fist descending crush'd his Skull, And left him spurning on the bloody Floor. |
| fig. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V, 81 This prince was a capitaine against whome fortune never frowned nor mischance once spurned. |
† b. In allusive phrases. Obs. (Cf. kick v.1 1 c.)
| c 1390 Chaucer Truth 11 Bywar þerfore to spurne aȝeyns an al. c 1480 Henryson Test. Cres. 475 Quhy spurnis thow aganis the Wall? 1483 Vulgaria 26 It is a foly to sporn ageyns the pryk. 1513 More Rich. III, Wks. 70/2, I purpose not to spurne againste a prick. 1562 Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 116 Folly to spurne or kycke against the harde wall. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 205 What profit then..Against the prick to seeme to spurne? 1605 Camden Rem. (1623) 268 Folly it is to spurne against a pricke. [1816 Scott Old Mort. Introd., Waste not your strength by spurning against a castle wall.] |
† c. To strike at with a weapon. Obs.—1
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 4744 The grekes..With speris full dispitiously spurnit at the yates. |
† d. To dash; to drive quickly. Obs.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 786 Now aithire stoure on þar stedis strikis to-gedire, Spurnes out spakly with speris in hand. c 1400 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 4706 Thre grete wawes in spurned. Ibid. 6796 Þe shipp agayn to land spurned. |
3. fig. To kick against or at something disliked or despised; to manifest opposition or antipathy, esp. in a scornful or disdainful manner.
| (a) 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 17 b, Than they wyll sporne agaynst god,..and vtterly refuse and forsake the batayle of vertue. 1559 Mirr. Mag., Owen Glendour xiii, Was none so bold durst once agaynst me spurne. 1605 Stow Ann. (ed. 2) 683 Wel knowing that the Queene would spurne against the conclusions. 1633 Bp. Hall Hard Texts, N.T. 145 It is no boot for thee to struggle and spurne against my almighty power. |
| (b) 1549 Latimer 3rd Serm. bef. Edw. VI, G vi, They that be good wyl beare, and not spourne at the preachers; they that be faultye..must amende, and neyther spourne, nor wynse, nor whyne. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. iv. 203 Will you then Spurne at his Edict, and fulfill a Mans? 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 1321 Spurning at their bread and rice which was given them for their daily entertainement. 1660 Extr. State Papers rel. Friends Ser. ii. (1911) 120 Anabaptists..will make advantage of the first opportunity to fly out, and spurne att his Maiesties Gouerment. 1753 H. Walpole in World No. 10, One must be an infidel indeed to spurn at such authority. a 1781 R. Watson Philip III (1839) 119 They spurned at danger, and made several vigorous sallies on the enemy. 1839 T. Mitchell Frogs of Aristoph. Introd. p. cxi, That parent required sacrifices of him, at which his genius evidently spurned. |
II. trans.
† 4. To strike (the foot) against something. Obs.
| a 1300 E.E. Ps. xc. 12 Þat thurgh hap þou ne spurn þi fote til stane. c 1430 Hymns Virgin (1867) 43 Lest þou spurne þi foot at a stoon. |
5. To strike or tread (something) with the foot; to trample or kick.
In later use freq. with implication of contempt.
| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 72 The ground he sporneth and he tranceth. a 1500 Lyttel Geste of Robyn Hode iii. clxi, He sporned the dore with his fote. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 295 The people came running to it, jobbed it in with their daggers, and spurned it with their fete. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. xiv. vii. 15 The foresaid governour..they layed at and spurned with their heeles. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 20 With their Feet they spurne the yeelding sands. 1735 Somerville Chase iii. 335 Wounded, he rears aloft,..then bleeding spurns the Ground. 1743 Francis tr. Hor., Odes iii. v. 36 When..the hind shall turn Fierce on her hunters, he the prostrate foe may spurn In second fight. 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. v, With flying foot the heath he spurned. 1848 A. Jameson Sacr. & Leg. Art 219 Mary is spurning with her feet a casket of jewels. 1875 Longfellow Masque of Pandora iv, With one touch of my..feet, I spurn the solid Earth. |
b. With advs. or advb. phrases, as away, down, off, up, etc. Also fig.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 608 He with his feet wol spurne adoun his cuppe. c 1450 Merlin xiii. 199 Galashin with his fote spurned his body to grounde. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 264 Auaunce thy spirituall courage, and sporne away all dulnesse & slouth. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. ii. i. 83 You spurne me hence, and he will spurne me hither. 1609 Rowlands Knaue of Clubbes (Hunterian Cl.) 6 Then with her feete she spurn'd them out of bed. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 30 The Pope treading on his necke, and spurning off his Crowne with his foot. 1700 Dryden Cock & Fox 85 If, spurning up the Ground, he sprung a Corn. 1727 Swift Country Post Wks. 1751 III. i. 178 The grave-stones of John Fry, Peter How, and Mary d'Urfey were spurned down. 1793 T. Beddoes Demonstr. Evid. 110 It is said, that the statesman..is apt to spurn away the ladder by which he has mounted to power. 1836 H. Rogers J. Howe ii. 30 There is no barrier to such inter-communion,..which the genuine spirit of charity will not spurn down. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xiii. III. 360 The few who were so luxurious as to wear rude socks of untanned hide spurned them away. 1878 Browning Poets Croisic lii, To learn..how fate could puff Heaven-high.., then spurn To suds so big a bubble in some huff. |
6. To reject with contempt or disdain; to treat contemptuously; to scorn or despise.
| c 1000 ælfric Saints' Lives vii. 64 æfter þæs mædenes spræce þe hine spearn mid wordum. a 1400–50 Alexander 3533 We sall neuer spise ȝow ne sporne in speche ne in dede. 1435 Misyn Fire of Love 44 Þat, vanite spisyd & spurnyd, to trewth vnpartyngly we draw. 1501 Plumpton Corr. (Camden) 155 He..wyll abyde by yt for his dede,..& so will shew to all men that spurns him any wher. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 98 b, Well knowyng, that the Quene would spurne and impugne the conclusions. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. ii. 14 The more she spurnes my loue, The more it growes. 1635 Quarles Embl. v. 13 O how my soul would spurn this ball of clay, And loathe the dainties of earth's painful pleasure. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 339 The pleasing Pleiades appear, And springing upward spurn the briny Seas. 1791 Boswell Johnson II. 117 When he suspected that he was invited to be exhibited, he constantly spurned the invitation. 1848 Dickens Dombey liii, I came back, weary and lame, to spurn your gift. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) II. 144 Every offer tending to conciliation had been spurned. |
Hence spurned ppl. a.
| 1805 Wordsw. Prelude v. 278 He..draws..sweet honey out of spurned or dreaded weeds. |
▪ V. † spurn, v.2 Obs.
[Alteration of spur v.1, after prec.]
trans. To spur; to urge or incite.
| 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. cxvii. 1114 Here Moses meant to spurne forward the slothfulnesse of the Jewes. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. i. 5 The Faery quickly raught His poinant speare, and sharpely gan to spurne His fomy steed. 1612 Capt. Smith Proc. Virginia 80 To encourage the good, and with shame to spurne on the rest to amendment. |
▪ VI. † spurn, v.3 Obs.
[Of obscure origin. Modern south-western dialects have spurl and spur in the same sense.]
trans. To spread or scatter.
| a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1757) 21 Farmer Bond..flung no dung, in the spurning or spreading it, into the furrows. Ibid. 30 Spurning is throwing it [sc. lime] abroad on the earth just before sowed. |
▪ VII. spurn, v.4
Also 9 spern.
[f. spurn n.2 3.]
1. intr. To serve as a prop or stay.
| 1783 J. Ogden Manchester 16 Sawing strong deal balks through the middle, and letting in oak spars to spurn at obtuse angles upward. |
2. trans. To prop or support with spurns.
| 1865 Even. Standard 7 Feb., Several of the men as well as deceased neglected to sprag or spern their work. |