Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adverb Precisely; squarely.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To leap; spring.
  • To cause to spring; set forcibly in motion; throw with violence.
  • noun A spring; a leaping or springing up; a violent blow or movement.
  • noun A span.
  • To set with bright points: star or spangle.
  • noun A shining ornament or object; a spangle.
  • To hitch; fasten.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Scot. A bound or spring.
  • noun obsolete A spangle or shining ornament.
  • transitive verb obsolete To spangle.
  • intransitive verb Scot. To spring; to bound; to leap.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive, dialect, UK, Scotland To leap; spring.
  • verb transitive, dialect, UK, Scotland To cause to spring; set forcibly in motion; throw with violence.
  • verb intransitive, of a flying object such as a bullet To strike or ricochet with a loud report
  • adverb dated Suddenly; slap, smack.
  • noun Scotland A span.
  • noun obsolete A shiny ornament or object; a spangle
  • verb To set with bright points: star or spangle.
  • verb To hitch; fasten.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb leap, jerk, bang

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably from dialectal spang, to leap, jerk, bang, probably of imitative origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Onomatopoeia

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

See span

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Probably from spring (verb) or spank (verb)

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English spang ("a small piece of ornamental metal; spangle; small ornament; a bowl or cup"), likely from Middle Dutch spange ("buckle, clasp") or Old English spang ("buckle, clasp")

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Examples

  • Englishman will mak a spang at it --- But I wash my hands o't

    Rob Roy 1887

  • The boy's ears were assailed by the sharp "spang" and "crack" of long-barreled antiaircraft guns and the "whomp" and the

    The HurricaneStory Gallico, Paul 1959

  • This time, as twice before, the broad round boom of a smooth-bore, so different from the short sharp "spang" of a rifle.

    The Death Shot A Story Retold Mayne Reid 1850

  • Englishman will mak a spang at it — But I wash my hands o’t — Follow me sir” (to Andrew), “and I’se show ye where to pit the beasts.”

    Rob Roy 2005

  • Set roasted beef and pudding on the opposite side o 'the pit o' Tophet, and an Englishman will mak a spang at it -- But I wash my hands o't -- Follow me sir "(to Andrew)," and I'se show ye where to pit the beasts. "

    Rob Roy — Volume 02 Walter Scott 1801

  • Set roasted beef and pudding on the opposite side o 'the pit o' Tophet, and an Englishman will mak a spang at it -- But I wash my hands o't -- Follow me sir "(to Andrew)," and I'se show ye where to pit the beasts. "

    Rob Roy — Complete Walter Scott 1801

  • One could almost judge the strength of the opposing forces as the Jerries were using mostly spandaus, the peculiar spang of which is unmistakable.

    Walter (Bill) Gossner 2010

  • Except during yogic nonconceptual cognition of nondenumerable voidness when the process of ridding ourselves forever (spang-ba, abandoning) unawareness begins, unawareness (ma-rig-pa, ignorance) accompanies all moments of conceptual and nonconceptual cognition.

    7 Non-Gelug Variations Concerning General Tantra 2009

  • And spang it: half the people go, what's he talking about?

    Ridley Scott Still Hates SciFi 2007

  • The spiteful spang of atomite sent Bert and Daniels to the window.

    "The Barrier" by Harl Vincent, part 5 Johnny Pez 2009

Comments

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  • Completely, squarely.

    June 26, 2008