English
spasm
Spasm comes from Latin spasmus ‘cramp, convulsion, spasm’, and goes back to Ancient Greek σπάω ‘to draw out, pull out’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάωspáō‘to draw out, pull out’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσπασμόςspasmós‘spasm, convulsion’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspasmus‘cramp, convulsion, spasm’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400spasme
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1861spasm
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάωspáō‘to draw out, pull out’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσπασμόςspasmós‘spasm, convulsion’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspasmus‘cramp, convulsion, spasm’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400spasme
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1861spasm
Earliest quotation: 1861, Anthony Trollope: “He would use the simplest, plainest language, he said…”
Every English word from Ancient Greek σπάω
Today it means
noun A sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek σπάω / spasm