Etymograph

English

spend

Spend comes from Middle English spenden ‘to spend’, from Latin expendō ‘to weigh’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)péndetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendō‘to hang’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendō‘to weigh’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpendō‘to weigh’
  6. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*spendōn‘to spend’reconstructed
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150spendan‘to spend’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spenden‘to spend’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1603spend

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)péndetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendō‘to hang’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendō‘to weigh’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpendō‘to weigh’
  6. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*spendōn‘to spend’reconstructed
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150spendan‘to spend’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spenden‘to spend’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1603spend

Earliest quotation: 1603, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes: “their bodies spent with long labour and thirst”.

The story

From Middle English spenden, from Old English spendan (attested especially in compounds āspendan (‘to spend’), forspendan (‘to use up, consume’)), from Proto-West Germanic *spendōn (‘to spend’), borrowed from Latin expendere (‘to weigh out’).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’

pound, span, depend, poise, pansy, pendant, pensive, 18 more

through Proto-Italic *pendō ‘to hang, put in a hanging position’

suspension, 15 more

through Latin pendō ‘to weigh, weigh out’

compensation, pension, compensate, penthouse, appendix, perpendicular, peso, compendium, dispensation, piso, recompense, append, 15 more

through Latin expendō ‘to weigh’

expensive, expense, expenditure, expend, 5 more

Today it means

verb To pay out (money).

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- / spend

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