Online Etymology Dictionary

spile (n.): tap or spout for drawing maple sugar, 1844, from Northern English dialect spile "splinter" (1510s), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German spile "splinter, skewer, bar, spindle," perhaps related to spike (n.1).
spill (v.): Old English spillan "destroy, kill," variant of spildan, from Proto-Germanic *spelthijanan (cf. Old High German spildan "to spill," Old Saxon spildian, Old Norse spilla "to destroy," Middle Dutch spillen "to waste"), from PIE *spel- "to split, break off" (cf. Middle Dutch spalden, Old High German spaltan "to split;" for further cognates, see spoil). Related: Spilled; spilling.

Sense of "let (liquid) fall or run out" developed mid-14c. from use of the word in reference to shedding blood (early 12c.). Intransitive sense is from 1650s. Spill the beans recorded by 1910 in a sense of "spoil the situation;" to cry for spilt milk (usually with negative) is attested from 1738.
spill (n.): 1845, originally "a throw from a horse," from spill (v.).
spillage (n.): 1934, from spill (v.) + -age. Shakespeare used spilth "that which has spilled, act of spilling" (1607).
spillover (n.): 1940, from verbal phrase, from spill (v.) + over (adv.).
spillway (n.): 1889, from spill + way.
spin (v.): Old English spinnan "draw out and twist fibers into thread," from Proto-Germanic *spenwanan (cf. Old Norse and Old Frisian spinna, Danish spinde, Dutch spinnen, Old High German spinnan, German spinnen, Gothic spinnan), from PIE *(s)pen- "stretch" (cf. Armenian henum "I weave;" Greek patos "garment, literally "that which is spun;" Lithuanian pinu "I plait, braid," spandau "I spin;" Middle Welsh cy-ffiniden "spider;" see span (v.)).

Sense of "to cause to turn rapidly" is from 1610s; meaning "revolve, turn around rapidly" first recorded 1660s. Meaning "attempt to influence reporters' minds after an event has taken place but before they have written about it" seems to have risen to popularity in the 1984 U.S. presidential campaign; e.g. spin doctor, first attested 1984. Spinning wheel is attested from c.1400; spinning-jenny is from 1783 (see jenny); invented by James Hargreaves c.1764-7, patented 1770.
spin (n.): "fairly rapid ride," 1856, from spin (v.).
spinach (n.): c.1400, from Anglo-French spinache, Old French espinache (Modern French épinard), from Old Provençal espinarc, which perhaps is via Catalan espinac, from Andalusian Arabic isbinakh, from Arabic isbanakh, from Persian aspanakh "spinach." But OED is not convinced the Middle Eastern words are native, and based on the plethora of Romanic forms pronounces the origin "doubtful." Old folk etymology connected the word with Latin spina (see spine) or with Medieval Latin Hispanicum olus. For pronunciation, see cabbage. In 1930s colloquial American English, it had a sense of "nonsense, rubbish," based on a famous "New Yorker" cartoon of Dec. 8, 1928.
spinal (adj.): 1570s, from Late Latin spinalis, from spina (see spine).
spindle (n.): Old English spinel, properly "an instrument for spinning," from stem of spinnan (see spin (v.)), with intrusive -d-. Related to Old Saxon spinnila, Old Frisian spindel, Old High German spinnila, German Spindel. As a type of something slender, it is attested from 1570s.
spindly (adj.): 1650s, from spindle + -y (2).
spindrift (n.): c.1600, Scottish formation from verb spene, alteration of spoon "to sail before the wind" (1570s, of uncertain origin) + drift. "Common in English writers from c 1880, probably at first under the influence of W. Black's novels" [OED].
spine (n.): c.1400, "backbone," later "thornlike part" (early 15c.), from Old French espine (French épine), from Latin spina "backbone," originally "thorn, prickle," from PIE *spei- "sharp point" (cf. Latin spica "ear of corn," Old Norse spikr "nail;" see spike (n.1)). Meaning "the back of a book" is first attested 1922.
spine-chiller (n.): "mystery film," 1940, from spine + agent noun from chill (v.). Spine tingler in same sense is from 1942.
spineless (adj.): 1827, of animals, from spine + -less. Meaning "lacking moral force" is from 1885. Related: Spinelessly; spinelessness.
spinet (n.): 1660s, spinette, "small harpsichord," from older French espinette (1520s), from Italian spinetta, said by Scaliger to be a diminutive of spina "thorn, spine," from Latin spina "thorn" (see spine), so called because the strings were plucked with thorn-like quills. The other theory (favored by OED) dates to early 17c. and claims the word is from the name of the Venetian inventor, Giovanni Spinetti (fl. c.1503).
spinnaker (n.): "large triangular sail," 1866, either a derivative of spin in the sense of "go rapidly" or a corrupt pronunciation of Sphinx, which was the name of the first yacht known to carry this type of sail.
spinner (n.): early 13c., "spider," agent noun from spin (v.). Meaning "person who spins textile thread" is from late 14c.
spinneret (n.): "silk-spinning organ of a silkworm or spider," coined 1826, diminutive of spinner.
spinney (n.): 1590s, from Old French espinei (Modern French épinaie) "place full of thorns and brambles," from espine (see spine).
spinoff (n.): also spin-off, 1951 of corporate entities; by 1967 of television shows, from spin + off. As a verbal phrase, by 1957. As an adjective, from 1966.
spinster (n.): mid-14c., "female spinner of thread," from Middle English spinnen (see spin) + -stere, feminine suffix. Spinning commonly done by unmarried women, hence the word came to denote "an unmarried woman" in legal documents from 1600s to early 1900s, and by 1719 was being used generically for "woman still unmarried and beyond the usual age for it."
Spinster, a terme, or an addition in our Common Law, onely added in Obligations, Euidences, and Writings, vnto maids vnmarried. [John Minsheu, "Ductor in Linguas," 1617]
spiny (adj.): 1580s, from spine + -y (2).
spiracle (n.): "air hole," 1610s, from Latin spiraculum, from spirare "to breathe" (see spirit (n.)).
spiral (adj.): 1550s, from Middle French spiral, from Medieval Latin spiralis "winding, coiling" (mid-13c.), from Latin spira "coil," from Greek speira "coil, twist, wreath," from PIE *sper- "to turn, twist." Spiral galaxy first attested 1913.
spiral (v.): 1726 (implied in spiraled), from spiral (n.). Transferred and figurative sense by 1922. Related: Spiraling.
spiral (n.): 1650s, from spiral (adj.). U.S. football sense is from 1896.
spirant (n.): breathy consonant, 1862, from Latin spirans (genitive spirantis), present participle of spirare "to breathe, blow" (see spirit (n.)).
spire (n.): Old English spir "sprout, shoot, stalk of grass," from Proto-Germanic *spiraz (cf. Old Norse spira "a stalk, slender tree," Middle Low German spir "a small point or top"), from PIE *spei- "sharp point" (see spike (n.1)). Meaning "tapering top of a tower or steeple" first recorded 1590s (a sense attested in Middle Low German since late 14c. and also found in the Scandinavian cognates). The verb is first recorded early 14c.
spirillum (n.): (plural spirilla), 1875, Modern Latin, diminutive of Latin spira (see spiral). So called for their structure.
spirit (n.): mid-13c., "animating or vital principle in man and animals," from Old French espirit, from Latin spiritus "soul, courage, vigor, breath," related to spirare "to breathe," from PIE *(s)peis- "to blow" (cf. Old Church Slavonic pisto "to play on the flute").

Original usage in English mainly from passages in Vulgate, where the Latin word translates Greek pneuma and Hebrew ruah. Distinction between "soul" and "spirit" (as "seat of emotions") became current in Christian terminology (e.g. Greek psykhe vs. pneuma, Latin anima vs. spiritus) but "is without significance for earlier periods" [Buck]. Latin spiritus, usually in classical Latin "breath," replaces animus in the sense "spirit" in the imperial period and appears in Christian writings as the usual equivalent of Greek pneuma.

Meaning "supernatural being" is attested from c.1300 (see ghost); that of "essential principle of something" (in a non-theological sense, e.g. Spirit of St. Louis) is attested from 1690, common after 1800. Plural form spirits "volatile substance" is an alchemical idea, first attested 1610; sense narrowed to "strong alcoholic liquor" by 1670s. This also is the sense in spirit level (1768).
spirit (v.): 1590s, "to make more active or energetic" (of blood, alcohol, etc.), from spirit (n.). The meaning "carry off or away secretly" (as though by supernatural agency) is first recorded 1660s.
spirited (adj.): "lively, energetic," 1590s, from spirit (n.).
spiritual (adj.): "of or concerning the spirit" (especially in religious aspects), c.1300, from Old French spirituel (12c.), from Latin spiritualis, from spiritus "of breathing, of the spirit" (see spirit (n.)). Meaning "of or concerning the church" is attested from mid-14c. The noun sense of "African-American religious song" first recorded 1866.
spiritualism (n.): 1796, "advocacy of a spiritual view," from spiritual + -ism. Table-rapping sense is from 1853.
spiritualist (n.): 1852, "one who believes in the ability of the living to communicate with the dead via a medium," from spiritual + -ist (also see spirit).
Every two or three years the Americans have a paroxysm of humbug -- ... at the present time it is Spiritual-ism. [J.Dix, "Transatlantic Tracings," 1853]
spirituality (n.): early 15c., from Middle French spiritualite, from Late Latin spiritualitatem (nominative spiritualitas), from Latin spiritualis (see spiritual). An earlier form was spiritualty (late 14c.).
spirochete (n.): 1877, from Modern Latin Spirochæta, the genus name, from spiro- Modern Latin comb. form of Greek speira "a coil" (see spiral) + Greek khaite "hair" (see chaeto-).
spirometer (n.): 1846, formed irregularly from Latin spirare "to breathe" (see spirit (n.)) + -meter. Related: Spirometry.
spissitude (n.): c.1400, "density, thickness, compactness," from Latin spissitudo, from spissus "thick, dense, compact, close" (source of Italian spesso, Spanish espeso, Old French espes, French épais).
spit (v.): "expel saliva," Old English spittan (Anglian), spætan (West Saxon), from PIE *sp(y)eu-, of imitative origin (see spew). Not the usual Old English word for this; spætlan (see spittle) and spiwan (see spew) are more common. Meaning "to eject saliva (at someone or something) as a gesture of contempt" is in Old English.
spit (n.1): "saliva," c.1300, from spit (v.). Meaning "the very likeness" is attested from c.1600 (e.g. spitting image, attested from 1901); cf. French craché in same sense. Military phrase spit and polish first recorded 1895.
spit (n.2): "sharp-pointed rod on which meat is roasted," Old English spitu, from Proto-Germanic *spituz (cf. Middle Dutch spit, Swedish spett, Old High German spiz, German Spieß "spit," German spitz "pointed"), from PIE *spei- "sharp point" (see spike (n.1)). This is also the source of the word meaning "sandy point" (1670s). Old French espois, Spanish espeto "spit" are Germanic loan-words. The verb meaning "to put on a spit" is recorded from c.1200.
Spitalfields: district east of London, famed for the work of Huguenot refugee weavers who took up residence there, from St. Mary Spital, a Middle English shortened form of hospital.
spitball (n.): 1846 in the schoolboy sense; 1905 in the baseball sense, from spit + ball (n.1).
spite (n.): c.1300, shortened form of despit "malice" (see despite). Corresponding to Middle Dutch spijt, Middle Low German spyt, Middle Swedish spit. Commonly spelled spight c.1575-1700. The verb is attested from c.1400. Phrase in spite of is recorded from c.1400.
spiteful (adj.): mid-15c., from spite + -ful. Related: Spitefully; spitefulness.
spitfire (n.): 1600, from spit (v.) + fire (n.). Replaced earlier shitfire (cf. Florentine cacafuoco).
spittle (n.): late 15c., "saliva, spit," probably an alteration (by influence of spit (v.)) of Old English spætl, spatl, from Proto-Germanic *spætlan, which is related to Old English spætan "to spit."