Online Etymology Dictionary

spring (n.1): "season following winter," 1547, earlier springing time, (1387), spring-time (1495), spring of the year (1530), which had replaced O.E. Lent by late 14c. From spring (v.); the notion is of the "spring of the year," when plants "spring up" (cf. spring of the leaf, 1538). Other Gmc. languages tend to take words for "fore" or "early" as their roots for the season name, cf. Dan. voraar, Du. voorjaar, lit. "fore-year;" Ger. Frühling, from M.H.G. vrueje "early." In 15c., the season also was prime-temps, after O.Fr. prin tans, tamps prim (Fr. printemps, which replaced primevère 16c. as the common word for spring), from L. tempus primum, lit. "first time, first season." Spring fever was O.E. lenctenadle; first record of spring cleaning is in 1857 (in ancient Persia, the first month, corresponding to March-April, was Adukanaiša, which apparently means "Irrigation-Canal-Cleaning Month;" Kent, p.167). Spring chicken "small roasting chicken" (usually 11 to 14 weeks) is recorded from 1780; transf. sense of "young person" first recorded 1906. Spring training first attested 1897.
spring (n.2): "source of a stream or river," O.E., from spring (v.) on the notion of the water "bursting forth" from the ground. Rarely used alone, appearing more often in compounds, e.g. wyllspring "wellspring." Fig. sense of "source or origin of something" is attested from early 13c.
springbok: 1775, from Afrikaans, from spring "to leap" (from M.Du. springhen, see spring (v.)) + bok "antelope," from M.Du. boc (see buck).
spring (v.): O.E. springan "to leap, burst forth, fly up" (class III strong verb; past tense sprang, pp. sprungen), from P.Gmc. *sprenganan (cf. O.N., O.Fris. springa, M.Du. springhen, O.H.G. springan, Ger. springen), from PIE *sprengh- "rapid movement" (cf. Skt. sprhayati "desires eagerly," Gk. sperkhesthai "to hurry"). In M.E., it took on the role of causal sprenge, from O.E. sprengan (as still in to spring a trap, etc.). Slang meaning "to pay" (for a treat, etc.) is arecorded from 1906. Meaning "to announce suddenly" (usually with on) is from 1876. Meaning "to release" (from imprisonment) is from 1900. The noun meaning "act of springing or leaping" is from c.1450. The elastic coil that returns to its shape when stretched is so called from 1428, originally in clocks and watches. As a device in carriages, coaches, etc., it is attested from 1665. From c.1300 the noun had a general sense of "action or time of rising or springing into existence," and was used of sunrise, the waxing of the moon, rising tides, etc., a sense preserved in spring (n.1). Springer as a type of spaniel is recorded from 1808.
vernal: "pertaining to spring," 1534, from L. vernalis "of the spring," from vernus "of spring," from ver "spring," from PIE *wesr- "spring" (cf. O.N. var "spring," Gk. ear, Skt. vasantah, Pers. bahar, O.C.S. vesna "spring," Lith. vasara "summer").
fountain: c.1410, "spring of water that collects in a pool," from O.Fr. fontaine "natural spring," from L.L. fontana "fountain, spring," from L. fem. of fontanus "of a spring," from fons (gen. fontis) "spring (of water);" cognate with Skt. dhanvati "flows, runs." The extended sense of "artificial jet of water" (and the structures that make them) is first recorded 1509. Fountainhead "spring from which a stream flows" first recorded 1585. "A French fountain-pen is described in 1658 and Miss Burney used one in 1789" [Weekley].
primavera: "spring," 1824, from It., lit. "spring time," from L. prima vera, pl. of primus ver "first spring;" for second element, see vernal.
offspring: O.E. ofspring "children or young collectively, descendants," lit. "those who spring off (someone,)" from off + springan "to spring" (see spring (v.)). The fig. sense is first recorded 1609.
spa: "medicinal or mineral spring," 1626, from name of health resort in eastern Belgium, known since 14c., that featured mineral springs believed to have curative properties. The place name is from Walloon espa "spring, fountain."
fontanelle: 1541, "hollow between two muscles," from O.Fr. fontenelle, dim. of fontaine "spring" (see fountain), on analogy of the dent in the earth where a spring arises. In ref. to the "hollow" in a baby's skull, it is first recorded 1741.
upstart (n.): 1555, "one newly risen in importance or rank, a parvenu," also start-up, from up + start (v.) in the sense of "jump, spring, rise." Cf. the archaic verb upstart "to spring to one's feet," attested from c.1300.
rebound (v.): c.1300, "to spring, leap," also "return to afflict" (early 15c.), from O.Fr. rebondir "leap back, resound," from re- "back" + bondir "leap, bound" (see bound (v.)). Sense of "to spring back from force of impact" is recorded from late 14c. Sports use probably first in tennis; basketball sense is attested from 1954. The noun is first recorded 1520s.
primrose: 1413, primerose, from O.Fr. primerose (12c.), from M.L. prima rosa, lit. "first rose," so called because it blooms early in spring. Parallel name primula (1101) is from O.Fr. primerole, from M.L. primula "primrose," shortened from primula veris "firstling of spring," prop. fem. of L. primulus, dim. of primus; but primerole was used in O.Fr. and M.E. of other flowers (cowslips, field daisies). The primrose path is from "Hamlet" I, iii.
keld: 1697 in northern dialect, but frequent in place names, from O.N. kelda "a well, fountain, spring," also "a deep, still, smooth part of a river."
sprint: 1566, "to spring, dart," from O.N. spretta "to jump up." Meaning "to run a short distance at full speed" first recorded 1871. The noun is attested from 1865.
Valentine: c.1450, "sweetheart chosen on St. Valentine's Day," from L.L. Valentinus, the name of two early It. saints (from L. valentia "strength, capacity;" see valence). Choosing a sweetheart on this day originated 14c. as a custom in Eng. and Fr. court circles. Meaning "letter or card sent to a sweetheart" first recorded 1824. The romantic association of the day is said to be from it being around the time when birds choose their mates.
"For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd cometh there to chese his make."
[Chaucer, "Parlement of Foules," c.1381]
Probably the date was the informal first day of spring in whatever Fr. region invented the custom (many surviving medieval calendars reckon the start of spring on the 7th or 22nd of February). No evidence connects it with the Roman Lupercalia (an 18c. theory) or to any romantic or avian quality in either of the saints. The custom of sending special cards or letters on this date flourished in England c.1840-1870, declined around the turn of the 20th century, and revived 1920s.
waken: "to become awake," O.E. wæcnan, wæcnian "to rise, spring," from the same source as wake (v.). Fig. sense was in O.E. Trans. sense of "to arouse (someone or something) from sleep" is recorded from c.1200.
Siloam: pool and spring outside Jerusalem (John ix:7), from L.L., from N.T. Gk., from Heb. shiloach, lit. "sending forth," from shalach "to send."
pegomancy: "divination by fountains," 1727, from Gk., from pege "fountain, spring" (of unknown origin) + manteia "oracle, divination."
Arizona: 1861, originally the name of a breakaway Confederate region of southern New Mexico; organized roughly along modern lines as a U.S. territory in 1863. From Sp. Arizonac, probably from a local name among the O'odham (Piman) people meaning "having a little spring." Alternative theory is that it derives from Basque arizonak "good oaks."
lope: "to run with long strides," c.1825; earlier "to leap, jump, spring" (1483), from O.N. hlaupa "to run, leap," from same Gmc. root as leap and gallop.
gambol (n.): 1513, originally gambolde "a leap or spring," from M.Fr. gambade, from L.L. gamba "horse's hock or leg," from Gk. kampe "bend." The verb is first attested 1508.
result (v.): 1432, from M.L. resultare "to result," in classical L. "to spring forward, rebound," frequentative of pp. of resilire "to rebound" (see resilience). The noun is 1626, from the verb.
darkling: "in the dark," mid-15c., from dark + now-obsolete adverbial ending -ling.
"But having nothing to do with the participial -ing it does not mean growing dark &c.; from the mistaken notion that it is a participle spring both the misuse of the word itself and the spurious verb darkle." {Fowler]
source: 1346, from O.Fr. sourse "a rising, beginning, fountainhead of a river or stream," fem. noun taken from pp. of sourdre "to rise, spring up," from L. surgere "to rise" (see surge). Meaning "written work (later also a person) supplying information or evidence" is from 1788.
Pegasus: winged horse in Gk. mythology, late 14c., from L., from Gk. Pegasos, usually said to be from pege "spring, font" (pl. pegai), especially in "springs of Ocean," near which Medusa was said to have been killed by Perseus (Pegasus sprang from her blood). But this may be folk etymology, and the suffix -asos suggests a pre-Gk. origin.
geyser: 1780, from Icelandic Geysir, name of a hot spring in the valley of Haukadal, from O.N. geysa "to gush," from P.Gmc. *gausjan, from PIE *gheus-, from root *gheu- "to pour."
Epsom salts: 1770, obtained from Epsom water, the water of a mineral spring at Epsom in Surrey, England. The place name is recorded c.973 as Ebbesham, lit. "Ebbi's homestead," from the name of some forgotten Anglo-Saxon.
Chinook: name for a group of related native people in the Columbia River region of Washington and Oregon, from Salishan /činuk/, name of a village site. Name also extended to a type of salmon (1851) and warm spring wind. Chinook jargon was a mish-mash of native, French, and English words once used as a lingua franca in the Pacific Northwest, and it is the earliest attested use of the word (1840).
hop (v.): O.E. hoppian "to spring, dance," from P.Gmc. *khupnojanan (cf. O.N. hoppa, Du. huppen, Ger. hüpfen "to hop"). Slang noun sense of "informal dancing party" is from 1731 (defined by Johnson as "a place where meaner people dance").
Aries: zodiac constellation usually identified as "the Ram," late 14c., from L. aires "ram" (cf. arietare "to butt"), from a PIE root meaning "spring, jump" (cf. Lith. erytis, O.C.S. jarici, Arm. oroj "lamb;" Gk. eriphos, O.Ir. heirp "kid").
lymph: 1725 in physiology sense, "colorless fluid found in the body," from Fr. lymphe, from L. lympha "water, clear water, a goddess of water," variant of lumpæ "waters," altered by infl. of Gk. nymphe "goddess of a spring, nymph."
rant (v.): 1598, from Du. randten "talk foolishly, rave," of unknown origin (cf. Ger. rantzen "to frolic, spring about"). The noun is first attested 1649, from the verb. Ranters "antinomian sect which arose in England c.1645" is attested from 1651; applied 1823 to early Methodists. A 1700 slang dictionary has rantipole "a rude wild Boy or Girl."
well (n.): "hole dug for water, spring of water," O.E. wielle (W.Saxon), welle (Anglian), from wiellan (see well (v.)).
Mars: "Roman god of war," also "bright red planet," late 14c., from L. Mars (stem Mart-), the Roman god of war, apparently from earlier Mavors, related to Oscan Mamers. He also had agricultural attributes, and may ultimately have been a Spring-Dionysus. The planet no doubt was so called for its blood-like color.
slink: O.E. slincan "to creep, crawl" (of reptiles), from P.Gmc. *slenkanan (cf. Swed. slinka "to glide," Du. slinken "to shrink, shrivel;" related to sling (v.)). Of persons, attested from late 14c. Slinky (adj.) "sinuous and slender," of women or clothes, first attested 1921. As a proprietary name for a spring marketed as a toy, 1948, by James Industries Inc., Philadelphia, U.S.A.
recoil (v.): early 13c., "force back," from O.Fr. reculer "to go back, recede, retreat," from V.L. *reculare, from L. re- "back" + culus "backside." Meaning "shrink back" is first recorded 1510s, and that of "spring back" (as a gun) in 1520s. The noun is attested from early 14c.
Easter: O.E. Eastre (Northumbrian Eostre), from P.Gmc. *Austron, a goddess of fertility and sunrise whose feast was celebrated at the spring equinox, from *austra-, from PIE *aus- "to shine" (especially of the dawn). Bede says Anglo-Saxon Christians adopted her name and many of the celebratory practices for their Mass of Christ's resurrection. Ultimately related to east. Almost all neighboring languages use a variant of Latin Pasche to name this holiday.
cru: from Fr. cru "vineyard," lit. "growth" (16c.), from O.Fr. crois (12c.; Mod. Fr. croît), from croiss-, stem of croistre "growth, augment, increase," ult. from L. crescere "come forth, spring up, grow, thrive" (see crescent).
hilarity: mid-15c., from L. hilaritas (gen. hilaritatis) "cheerfulness, gaiety," from hilaris "cheerful, gay," from Gk. hilaros, related to hilaos "graceful, kindly." In ancient Rome, Hilaria (neut. pl. of hilaris) were a class of holidays, times of pomp and rejoicing; there were public ones in honor of Cybele at the spring equinoxes as well as private ones on the day of a marriage or a son's birth.
asparagus: late O.E. sparage, from M.L. sparagus, from L. asparagus, Gk. asparagos, probably from PIE base *sp(h)er(e)g- "to spring up" (though perhaps from a non-Gk. source). Respelled c.1600 to conform with classical Latin. Sparrowgrass is 17c. folk etymology, persisting into 19c., during which time asparagus had "an air of stiffness and pedantry" [John Walker, "Critical Pronouncing Dictionary," 1791].
neo-conservative: Used in the modern sense by 1979:
"My Republican vote [in the 1972 presidential election] produced little shock waves in the New York intellectual community. It didn't take long - a year or two - for the socialist writer Michael Harrington to come up with the term "neoconservative" to describe a renegade liberal like myself. To the chagrin of some of my friends, I decided to accept that term; there was no point calling myself a liberal when no one else did." [Irving Kristol, "Forty Good Years," "The Public Interest," Spring 2005]
The term is attested from 1960, but it originally often was applied to Russell Kirk and his followers, who would be philosophically opposed to the modern neocons.
skip: c.1300, "to spring lightly," also "to jump over," probably from O.N. skopa "to skip, run," from P.Gmc. *skupanan (cf. M.Swed. skuppa, dial. Swed. skopa "to skip, leap"). Meaning "omit intervening parts" first recorded c.1385. Meaning "fail to attend" is from 1905. The noun is attested from c.1440. The custom of skipping rope has been traced to 17c.; it was commonly done by boys as well as girls until late 19c.
debacle: "disaster," 1848, fig. use of Fr. débâcle "breaking up of ice on a river," extended to the violent flood that follows when the river ice melts in spring, from débâcler "to free," from M.Fr. desbacler "to unbar," from des- "off" + bacler "to bar," from V.L. *bacculare, from L. baculum "stick." Sense of "disaster" was present in Fr. before Eng. borrowed the word.
sanguine: 1319, "type of red cloth," from O.Fr. sanguin (fem. sanguine), from L. sanguineus "of blood," also "bloody, bloodthirsty," from sanguis (gen. sanguinis) "blood" (see sanguinary). Meaning "blood-red" is recorded from 1382. Meaning "cheerful, hopeful, confident" first attested 1509, since these qualities were thought in medieval physiology to spring from an excess of blood as one of the four humors.
assault (n.): c.1300, from O.Fr. asaut (12c., Mod.Fr. assaut), from V.L. *adsaltus "attack, assault," from ad "to" + L. saltus "a leap," from salire "to leap, spring" (see assail). The verb is from c.1450.
bourn (1): "small stream" (also bourne), especially of the winter torrents of the chalk downs, O.E. brunna, from P.Gmc. *brunnoz "spring, fountain" (cf. O.H.G. brunno, O.N. brunnr, O.Fris. burna, Ger. Brunnen "fountain," Goth. brunna "well"), ult. from PIE base *bhreue- "to boil, bubble, effervesce, burn" (see brew).
sprinkle: 1382 (implied in sprinkled), frequentative of sprenge (see spring (v.)) or via M.Du., M.L.G. sprenkel "spot, speck," from PIE base *(s)preg- "to jerk, scatter" (cf. L. spargere "to scatter, sprinkle"). The meaning "rain lightly" is first recorded 1778. Sprinkling "small amount" first recorded 1594. Sprinkler is attested from 1535.
lye: O.E. læg, leag, from P.Gmc. *laugo (cf. M.Du. loghe, Du. loog, O.H.G. louga, Ger. Lauge "lye"), from PIE root *lou- "to wash" (see lave). The substance was used in the old days in place of soap, hence O.H.G. luhhen "to wash," O.N. laug "hot bath, hot spring," Dan. lørdag, Swed. lördag "Saturday," lit. "washing-day." Chamber-lye in the Middle Ages was the name for urine used as a detergent.
Adirondack: type of lawn or deck chair, said to have been designed in 1903 by Thomas Lee, owner of the Westport Mountain Spring, a resort in the Adirondack region of New York State, and commercially manufactured the following year, but said originally to have been called Westport chair after the town where it was first made. Adirondack Mountains is a back-formation from Adirondacks, treated as a plural noun but really from Mohawk (Iroquoian) adiro:daks "tree-eaters," a name applied to neighboring Algonquian tribes, in which the -s is an imperfective affix.