Etymograph

English

spore

Spore comes from Ancient Greek σπορά ‘seed’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sper- ‘to scatter, strew’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sper-‘to scatter, strew’root as named
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσποράsporá‘seed’
  3. New Latinc. 1500–1900spora
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2008spore

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sper-‘to scatter, strew’root as named
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσποράsporá‘seed’
  3. New Latinc. 1500–1900spora
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2008spore

Earliest quotation: 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction): “Thresher maws are subterranean carnivores that spend their entire…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sper- ‘to scatter, strew’

spare, spiral, sperm, sparkle, sprout, diaspora, spurious, spiro, 22 more

through Ancient Greek σπορά ‘seed’

sporadic, 1 more

Today it means

noun A reproductive particle, usually a single cell, released by a fungus, alga, or plant that may germinate into another.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sper- / spore

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