English
Esparto
Esparto comes from Spanish esparto ‘esparto (grass)’, and goes back to Ancient Greek σπάρτον ‘rope, cable’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάρτον‘rope, cable’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspartum‘esparto or halfah grass’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentesparto‘esparto (grass)’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025Esparto
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάρτον‘rope, cable’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspartum‘esparto or halfah grass’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentesparto‘esparto (grass)’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025Esparto
Earliest quotation: 2025, Human remains located after California fireworks warehouse e: “Seven were missing after the Tuesday fireworks explosion near…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sper- ‘to twist, turn’
spiral, sperm, spare, diaspora, sprout, sparkle, spurious, spore, spiro, 22 more
Today it means
name A census-designated place in Yolo County, California, United States.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek σπάρτον / Esparto