One Word for the Season, the Water and the Coil
Spring names a season, a water source and a metal coil. All three come from the same idea: something that leaps up.
Spring is a season, a source of water, a coil of metal and a sudden jump. They are not homonyms but one word: the verb means to leap up, and everything else follows — water springs from the ground, plants spring up in the season, a coil springs back. The season was called *springing time* in Middle English, shortened to *spring* by the 1500s, replacing the older name *Lent*.
- The season. *Late spring.*
- A water source. *A mountain spring.*
- A coiled device. *A broken spring.*
- To leap. *He sprang to his feet.*
- To reveal suddenly. *She sprang the news on us.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | spring | Early spring. |
| Verb | spring | Spring forward. |
| Past | sprang | He sprang up. |
| Participle | sprung | It has sprung. |
| Adjective | springy | Springy turf. |
- The stream rises from a spring above the village.Water.
- The trap sprang shut.The verb.
- Hope springs eternal.From Alexander Pope.
What the seasons used to be called
- Spring — earlier *Lent*, a word now religious only
- Autumn — earlier *harvest*, which German still uses as *Herbst*
- Summer and winter — the two oldest names, unchanged
- Fall — an English word that survived in America and faded in Britain
- Why two changed — the farming year gave way to a calendar year
Old English *springan*, to leap or burst forth. The season sense is a shortening of *spring of the year*, recorded from the 1500s.
Is it sprang or sprung?
Sprang for the simple past: he sprang up. Sprung needs an auxiliary: it has sprung.
Why is the season called spring?
From plants springing up. It replaced the older English name for the season, Lent.